Renovations continue on Birnamwood American Legion post

Volunteers help construct new basement for Darling-Gunderson Post 341
By: 
Luke Reimer
Reporter

Volunteers are working on renovating Darling-Gunderson Post 341 of the American Legion in Birnamwood.

The building at 355 Wausau St. is headquarters of the post, which was chartered in 1921.

A new basement is being added to the existing American Legion building due in part to that being the first step to adding any more renovations.

“There was a basement there, but unfortunately it was not usable,” said post commander Dave Humblet. “The water was coming through the cracks in the foundation — so we had to do something.”

“The rest of the framework is all in good shape, but it is not good if you lose your foundation — that’s where we had to start,” he added.

Humblet said that the post needed renovations due to the ground’s effect on the foundation of the building.

“At one point there was a ditch running north-south along the street on the side of the building — when the village filled it in, due to the pressure and the ground water, ground started to push in on the foundation,” said Humblet. “It was an old stone foundation that started to crack and fall into the building.”

Humblet said that the building has needed repairs for a while, including the foundation and a hole in the roof.

“It was to the point where we had to do something or we were going to lose the building,” said Humblet.

According to Humblet, every small town used to have a veterans organization’s post, whether it be American Legion or VFW, not only to show that there are veterans in the area but to give veterans an area to operate.

“Having a building of our own kind of gives us somewhat of an identity,” he said.

Along the way, the history of the building has been lost as older members pass away. The belief is that the building was built in the early 1920s due to the granite stone foundation.

“Some of our longer-standing members remember the building being a kindergarten and a library,” Humblet said. “The building has been used for different purposes throughout the years.”

Humblet said having the American Legion is important to communities.

“The American Legion sponsors government education, which are programs that teach about state, local and federal government,” said Humblet. “It is things to help educate our youth on how government works from the county to the federal government.”

The American Legion is also an advocate for veterans rights, said Humblet.

“Things that may affect health care — they are advocates for lobbying Congress on behalf of veterans,” said Humblet.

The American Legion is very involved in the Birnamwood community, as they provide military honors for veterans’ funerals and help sponsor the Bloecher-Johnson Post 502 American Legion Baseball team that’s made up of players from Wittenberg-Birnamwood.

Darling-Gunderson Post 341 has typically not been open to the community, unless there have been prior plans to reserve it. Humblet said it will be used for meetings and storage of flags and weapons.

According to Humblet, the American Legion is about volunteering, and Legionairres and others in the community are helping to make the renovations on the post in Birnamwood. He also said that the building trades class at Wittenberg-Birnamwood High School is going to help out with the renovations as part of their class curriculum.

Due to limited funds and limited time, Humblet is unsure when the renovations will be completed. He did mention though that once the basement is in, they should have better picture of a timetable for the remaining renovations. He predicts that the basement renovations should be completed before Memorial Day.

“Obviously we want to get it to usable condition as soon as we can,” Humblet said. “We are looking at different ways of getting donations of materials — not just money.”

According to Humblet, Home Depot offers a program to apply for a grant.

“The more that we get in — funds or materialwise — the quicker we can get done,” said Humblet.

The funds for the renovations of the building come from fundraisers in towns. Humblet said that the post’s Memorial Day chicken dinner fundraiser has been the biggest help to bringing in money to put towards the building. Gun raffles and summer picnics also help in the aid of raising money.

Humblet said a picnic is planned on Aug. 15 to mark the 100th anniversary of the American Legion Birnamwood post being chartered.

“We will sell burgers, brats, beer and soda,” he said. “We will have music and raffles throughout the day as well.”

Humblet believes that the public should be interested in this project because it brings pride to the community.

“It is right in the center of town and can provide a bright spot in Birnamwood,” said Humblet.

Donations from the community are welcome. Memorials to veteran family members or in honor of other veterans, are also welcome, he said.

“We take pride in representing our community,” Humblet said. “We want people to be proud of having us here.”