SHRAPNEL
Newsletter of Evanston American Legion Post 42
1030 Central Street, Evanston, IL 60201 - (847) 475-9076
Volume 108 No. 4--- 1 Jul 2015
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COMMANDER’S CORNER
Greetings & welcome to the first digital version of the new “Shrapnel”.
As my original two year term as Commander comes to an end, I find myself beginning a third year as your Commander. It is neither my wish, nor desire to start a dynasty. So then, why am I starting my third year as Commander? Simply put: The positions of Jr. Vice Commander & Sr. Vice Commander have been vacant for two years.
Commanding an active Post, as is ours, is not something one can just step into and do the Post, District, Division, or State the justice it requires or be fair to the uninitiated! That’s why it is so critical to fill these positions. John Fitts has offered to serve as the Jr. Vice Commander, but we are still in need of a Sr. Vice Commander. Any volunteers?
BUT, the Jr. & Sr. Vice Commander positions are not the only vacancies we have had in our Post 42 Leadership: We have not had a Sgt-at-Arms for at least four years while the position of Children &Youth is also vacant. Any volunteers?
As stated earlier, Post 42 is a very active Post. We have functions almost monthly:
Memorial Day ceremonies, Grave decorations, Super Bowl Party, St. Patrick’s Dinner/Huck award dinner, Rebuilding Together, Pasta Fund Raiser/Raffle, Poppy Days (4) collections, Family Picnic, Twilight golf league, Cross country golf outing, 4th of July Parade, Veterans Day ceremonies, Pancake Breakfast, Christmas Party, Glow-ball golf outing, Winter golf shootout & breakfast, and Flag day retirement of unusable flags
We have over 250 members at our Post; all the activities listed above need event chairman & committeemen to be successful. Any volunteers?
Let’s remember the American Legion tag line, “Still Serving”. Our Post’s success depends entirely on active membership, participation and volunteerism. Please consider getting more involved this new Legion Year, 1July2015-30June2016
FROM YOUR SAL COMMANDER
How about those Blackhawks?
While Chicago celebrates the Stanley Cup, it is worth remembering that Evanston Post 42 has something in common with the 2015 Champions. The original owner of the Black Hawks franchise, Frederic McLaughlin, had served as the commander of the 333rd machine gun battalion in the 86th Infantry Division. This was the celebrated “Black Hawk Division” which trained at Camp Grant Rockford, Illinois before being shipped to Europe. When McLaughlin obtained the Chicago franchise he named the team to honor the Black Hawk Division, which was, of course, named after the famous Sauk Indian Chief. In fact, a former American Legion Post, which operated out of the City Hall/County Building in Chicago, was named after the Black Hawk Division too.
One member of the Black Hawk Division who returned home in 1919 was Major Thomas L. Marshall. He was a native of Charleston, Illinois, who attended Yale University and the Harvard University Law School. After being admitted to the Illinois bar in 1913, Marshall left Charleston and moved to Chicago where he worked as a lawyer for the Illinois Central Railroad.
Following his military service, Marshall returned to Chicago and temporarily made his home at the University Club. He also accepted a position as an Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney. Marshall soon moved to Evanston and was selected as the first Post Commander of American Legion Post 42. His name appears opposite the Post Charter on display in the hall. Marshall and his family were parishioners at St. Athanasius.
Professionally, Marshall became an accomplished trial practitioner. He also acted as an Assistant Editor of the Chicago Bar Association Record. He served as a co-counsel to State’s Attorney Robert E. Crowe during the prosecution of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb for the kidnapping and murder of Bobby Franks. “The Trial of the Century” took place in 1924.
A few years later, Marshall returned to private practice. He helped found a successful law firm, Bell, Boyd & Marshall (which later was renamed Bell, Boyd & Lloyd). Marshall specialized in traction issues and helped consolidate various municipal transit companies into the Chicago Transit Authority.
Marshall and his wife eventually left Evanston and returned to the Gold Coast. Mayor Martin H. Kennelly appointed the Republican Marshall to the Chicago Board of Education in 1953. Mayor Richard J. Daley reappointed him to an additional term. In 1960, Marshall was selected to serve as the interim President of the Board of Education. Marshall did not seek reappointment and retired in 1962. He died two years later while vacationing in La Jolla, California.
The names on the wall opposite the stairs are those of legionnaires that we should know better.
VA VISITS
Lovell Legends Wheel Chair Team:
Members of the Post attended a send-off rally for the Wheelchair team at the Hospital. The Post raised $4,578.08 to help fund the teams travel to compete in Dallas in June.
Lovell Hospital Visits:
The Post 42 members will be hosting the Hospital patients for some recreation and refreshments on July 30 and August 13. Volunteers are needed to help with these visits. Contact the Service Officer, James Farley for details.
Michael Carder Now Serving as 1st Division Commander
Past Post 42 Past Commander Mike Carder is now serving as 1st Division Commander for 2016.
The 1st Division serves the function of promoting communication between the Department of Illinois and the National Department as well as exchanging ideas between its member Posts and Divisions. The 1st Division also funds and promotes important Legion programs such as Gifts to the Yanks, Children and Youth, Americanism and Service to Veterans, just to name a few. We congratulate him for his selection to this prestigious position and offer our support!
CHAPLAIN’S CORNER
In the Good Old Virtuous Summertime?
The lyrics from Ren Shields 1902 Tin Pan Alley standard, In the Good Old Summertime, evokes the hope of a season that will be full of freedom, family and fun. Our calendars are marked on those special days of summer and plans are made to prepare and enjoy the events to come. We all need down time and breaks from the day to day slogging that, at times, zaps our physical, emotional and spiritual resources, but we should also remember to hold fast to our virtues while at work or play.
The cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance are all important throughout our lives, but the virtue of temperance takes center stage during those times when we feel that we deserve or need time to relax and enjoy ourselves. Temperance, the righteous habit that helps humans moderate their natural appetites for the pleasures of the senses, is considered a characteristic of all moral virtues. We are most tested to stretch ourselves beyond a level of moderation that the Lord asks of us during The Good Old Summertime. We are tempted and sometimes fall to the temptation and over indulge in food, drink, play and entertainment. In a weaken state, we attempt to rationalize our need to cast aside our virtue of temperance.
Temperance and enjoyment are not polar opposites. One can enjoy food, drink, play and entertainment with a degree of decorum that highlights and shows to God and others that we are followers of a faith that honors temperance, self-control and moderation. We are capable of good works and good fun, because God graces us with the tools necessary to achieve and enjoy both.
May our summertime of family, food and fun be enjoyable and may we maintain a level of temperance that will honor our families and our God.
God bless,
Chaplain Karl Z. Kuhn
MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY AT MEMORIAL PARK & FOUNTAIN SQUARE
Grave Decoration:
Saturday May 23rd was a bright sunny day. With the Post 42 volunteers, Boy Scout Troop 3 placed flags on all of the veteran’s graves at Memorial Park in Skokie. Memorial Park served a grilled lunch for the Scouts afterward.
Memorial Day:
On Monday, May 25th Post 42 coordinated a ceremony at Memorial Park to honor our fallen comrades. Post Commander Brusek led the ceremony and the Skokie Police Department Color Guard performed the flag raising and rifle salute. Many local residents in addition to several Post members attended the ceremony
Following the ceremony at Memorial Park, another ceremony was held at Fountain Square in downtown Evanston that included all the local veterans’ organizations. Participating units included American Legion, VFW, VietNow, and Northwestern NROTC. The ceremony, led by former Post 42 Commander Greg Lisinski, started at 10:30 AM and was shortened slightly by heavy rains. Evanston Mayor Tisdahl and Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin addressed the attendees. Despite the rain, the ceremony was well attended. After the service, all members and attendees were invited to the Post for refreshments.
POST 42 GLOW BALL OUTING
OCTOBER 2015
The annual Glow Ball Golf Outing will be held in October at the Canal Shores Golf Course. The cost will be $40 per golfer, which will cover the green fees, prizes and food afterword.
SAL GOLF OUTING/POST PICNIC
The SAL Golf Outing will be held on Sunday, 23 Aug 15, with the first tee time at 7:00 AM. The entry fee will be $50 per participant that includes green fees and pull cart. Motorized carts are NOT part of the entrance fee and are the responsibility of the individual golfer. The golfer is responsible for reserving a cart if they require one. You can register at the Post or call Commander Dan Kelly at (847) 475-9076 or (773) 728-9475. Prizes will be awarded to the top two teams with, longest drive, closest to the pin (for both Men and Women) and longest putt. The Boy Scouts will also have their annual fund raiser at hole 14.
The Post Picnic will begin at 12:00 PM and end at 5:00 PM. The cost will be $10 for adults and as always children under six are free. In conjunction with the Picnic, there will be a 50/50 raffle. Cost is $1 per ticket or $5 for six. These can be purchased at the bar and on the day of the picnic. There will be four prizes, that will consist of 1st place 40%, 2nd place 30%, 3rd place 20%, 4th place 10% of the money collected….so the more tickets sold, the larger the prize money.
POPPY DAY
The wearing of a poppy means, “honor the dead and help the living.” This annual tradition was again fulfilled by twenty some members of Post 42 by generously volunteering their time and efforts on the days leading up to Monday, 25 May, Memorial Day.
By promoting the sale and distribution of the bright red flowers, assembled by hospitalized veterans, Evanston citizens willing donated so that they could proudly wear the poppy. From Memorial Park to Fountain Square, the Light House to South Bend, and McCormick Blvd to Sheridan Rd, our volunteers were out there with their contribution cans
Donationstotaled $2,638.51which will directly benefit veterans.
Poppy Chairman, Gerry Romne, with the assistance of Jim Farley and John Champagne, and money counter Kim Cook, once again deeply thank the volunteers for carrying forward this noble tradition.
NEW CLUB MANAGER HIRED
Brett Hallongren, Club Room Manager
As your new Club Room Manager I am very excited to be part of the Legion Club staff. With only a few days under my belt I would like to thank everyone for the warm welcome and willingness to help.
\A very big thank you goes out to Cindy for sitting down with me and going through the myriad of things that are handled on a daily basis to keep the club running. For those of you who know Cindy, don’t worry, she will (to my relief) remain on the team to tend bar and continue to help with the transition.
As we move forward I welcome any comments you may have. Please let me know if there is anything new you would like to see in your bar, anything you love about it currently or any complaints you have as I make my way into the new position. Feel free to find me at the bar, call me at 312-961-3439 or send me an email at .
MEMBERSHIP
It is the start of our new membership year and we are asking all Post Member, SAL Members, and Boosters to consider renewing their memberships early. In addition to our normal methods of renewal, you can now renew via our new and improved web page by simply following the links. You will also find the Post member Personal Information Sheet that we request all Post Members to compete so we can assist your loved ones in the event of a tragedy. We can be found at When you visit us, you will find all the latest info, upcoming events, Post information, and a wealth of other information. For those who are more technology adept, we can be found on Face Book.
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SHRAPNEL is a publication of Evanston Post 42, American Legion, all rights are reserved.
2016Legion YearOfficers - Post 42
CommanderJames M Brusek 773-262-4726
Senior Vice-CommanderVACANT
Junior Vice-CommanderJohn Fitts 847-842-9517
AdjutantGreg Lisinski 630-309-8074
Finance OfficerDan Fleming 847-769-5242
Service OfficerJames Farley 847-866-8486
Sergeant at Arms VACANT
ChaplainKarl Kuhn 773-286-2002
Past CommanderGreg Wilson 224-381-5010
SAL CommanderDaniel Kelley 847-226-3652
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Adam Kwiecinski Nancy Carder Michael Wojciechowski Kim Cook Bob Weis Tony Switzer Art Saunders
Newsletter Editor: Dan Fleming
Contributions are always welcome. Contact Dan Fleming (847) 769-5242 or by e-mail at
Shrapnel
American Legion Post 42
P.O. Box 42,
Evanston, IL 60204
DELIVER TO:
ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED
POST 42 DATES TO REMEMBER 2015-2016
Yet To Be Submitted
PLEASE NOTE REVISED MEETING TIMES!
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