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The history of Post 8696 begins in 1944 when a
kind gentleman named Harry J. Humphrey owned a
hardware store at the present site of Post
8696. As the years change so do the times.
Harry sold the property in the 50's and later
became a member of the VFW. He was a member of
a different Post for 8696 did not exist at the
time.
At some time in the late 70's Harry and a
group of other members became dissatisfied
with the operation of their current Post and
decided to get a separate charter and form a
new Post. Having had the required 25 members
to obtain a new charter Post 8696 was born on
April 14, 1979. They used to meet at Harry's
house.
Strangely enough, there came a point in time
in late 1979 when the original property owned
by Harry and sold by him became available for
rent. At least a portion of the lot.
At that time Post 8696 moved into what was the
original Hardware Store owned by Harry
Humphrey.
Also, strangely enough, Harry was the
Instituting Commander of Post 8696 and we now
occupied his old property as a VFW Post.
This property was at that time owned by Joe
Knifton, a member of Post 8696 so it was
natural that the Post be located there.
Well, in those years it was a virtual dog and
pony show for we had lots of both. Through the
years the Post has grown.
In 1991 we bought the property from Joe
Knifton and started the renovation process.
The old building where Joyce Humphrey (Harry's
wife) used to store her horses is now our
meeting hall and backup Canteen area.We
completely re-did the interior and exterior of
the building. We only kept the original frame.
Perhaps I should explain: Post 8696 is located
on several lots of property and consists of 5
separate buildings now on almost 3 acres of
property. So it is not the usual Post.
We have a covered Patio which is 30 X 50 feet
with a Bandstand outside which is where we
hold most of our events.
Our outdoor season runs from March to November
and we feature many bands and entertainment.
This is what we call our fund-raising season
for the weather is perfect except in the
summer when we do have some rather hot days.
But, it doesn't slow us down a bit.
As mentioned on the main page we have
entertainment 7 nights per week. Four of those
consist of VFW 8696 hosting Karaoke. Yes we do
have a permanent and professional system built
into the wall. So be here Sunday, Monday,
Tuesday or Thursday and sing along. Starts at
7:30 PM.
Back to our history...
In time we got to make the improvements to the
property. We bought the property from the
Knifton's in 1991 and paid off the mortgage in
1998.
Then we had a mortgage burning party for on
that day and for a 5 hour period everything
was on the house. All drinks paid by the Post
to thank those that made it all possible. The
Post hosted a live band and the food was
catered by Jerry Mather's wife. He played
Beaver Cleaver on "Leave it to
Beaver" TV series in the 60's. In 1999 we
acquired another 1/2 acre of property which is
used for overflow parking which we need on our
live music nights.
One of our main goals has
always been to help and support the local
community. We do this in many ways by doing fund
raisers and making cash contributions not only
to the local beneficiaries but to some National
ones also.
We actively support Camp
Ronald MacDonald, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation,
The Battered Womens Group, Heads Up for Horses,
The VFW 8696 - Moose 210 - Lions Fishing Club,
The Sheriff's Booster Club and The VFW Softball
Team.
We also have a monthly needy
families program where we get names of needy
people from Social Services and go on a shopping
spree to deliver a care package to the needy.
(About $200/month).
We also donate $500/yr to
each of our local Elementary School PTA
Organizations.
The end result of all these efforts is that we
donate about $18,000/yr in cash and goods to
these ends so we are pro active in the
community. You see, we do believe in sharing.
Amongst our more prominent
members is or was (deceased) Joe Branigan,
cameraman for The Murphy Brown TV Series, Rod
Gilmore, Sound man for the same series and last
but not least Anthony Dominick Benedetto (Tony
Bennett). All are life members of Post 8696.
On May 1, 2000 we purchased
another piece of property (1 acre) that will be
used for parking, outdoor sports and a picnic
area complete with BBQ's and lots of shade
trees.
Needless to say it does get
rather busy here, especially on Friday and
Saturday nights. We feature some of the finest
bands in the area and celebrate it in a
home-town family type atmosphere.
This is why we call ourselves "The Friendly
Post"
So here we are only 21 years
old and have accomplished many things.
Our thanks go to all our staff, for having the
sensibility, willingness and ability to please
our clientel.
To our many past and current officers who have
the acumen to know not only how to run a VFW
Post but also a business. Our motto is "We
do Chicken Right." Our main rule is
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
So those of you who read this
little piece, stop by and meet our very special
and friendly group. The Canteen opens at 10 A.M.
daily and is usually open till legal closing ( 2
A.M.) If we have a particulary slow night we
might close earlier but not before Midnight.
Future Goals
We have found in the past that it is very
important for a Post to have ongoing goals.
For if you don't there is a tendency to
stagnate and get complacent.
We have completed purchase of the adjacent lot
(1 acre). This property will be used for
overflow parking.
We also plan to make the rear portion into a
picnic area complete with large shade trees,
picnic tables and BBQ pits. The area already
has a regulation horseshoe pit. This addition
makes one contiguous area of almost 3 acres on
which Post 8696 is located.
January 15, 2001
We have completed the installation of our own
Karaoke equipment. This is a permanent flush
in the wall system and has the capability of
selecting over 5740 songs by remote control.
Just another one of our ongoing goals. Our
cost = $10,000 and value = $14,000. The reason
is that we have been doing Karaoke for the
past 5 years and it is time to make it a self
sustaining operation 4 nights/week. It is a
turnkey system and we continue to make Post
8696 a better place to be at.
Our wish is that all who visit our Post are
made to feel comfortable.
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