Pendleton American Legion Post 117 is the site of the local Winter Market.

Robin Norris takes a picture of friends Angela Barker, Dottie Nicholas and Linda Johnson in front of the Veterans Celebration of Service Garden on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11, at Pendleton American Legion Post 117. Norris — Legion recruiter — purchased 19 bricks, including one honoring Loren McElfresh, Barker’s grandfather and Nichollas’ and Johnson’s father, who was a World War II veteran.

By Sue Hughes | For The Times-Post

PENDLETON  — Col. Dave Skalon paid a visit to Pendleton Historical Museum on Sunday, Feb. 12, to talk about American Legion Post 117.
The Pendleton post celebrated its 102nd anniversary on Feb. 17.
Skalon, 53, has been a member of the Army National Guard for 34 years.
Originally from northern Indiana, Skalon came to Muncie to attend Ball State University. After four years of active duty with the U.S. Army, he returned to the university and met his future wife, Tonya.
She accepted a job at Ball State after graduation. He began working at Stout Field in Indianapolis.
They decided Pendleton was a good halfway point to live and raise a family. The Skalons have three children, Taylor, Tatiana and Paulina.
Skalon, second vice commander of the Pendleton Post, began his talk by giving a short history of the American Legion.
It was established in Europe after World War I, he said. Military personnel waiting to be sent back to the United States were bored, and Gen. John Pershing and Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. saw a need for something to entertain them.
The two men formed a committee, which established the American Legion in 1919.
The death of a popular Pendleton resident, Ward Gaul, in 1920 spurred interest in establishing a Legion post in Pendleton.
Gaul, who was killed overseas, had a huge funeral where many veterans got together.
Legion 117 was officially chartered on Feb. 17,1921.
“The war mothers saw a great need for a place veterans could be together,” Skalon said.
“At first it was a social place with lots of dinners and dances,” he said.
For many years the Legion was located in the I.O.O.F. building in downtown Pendleton. In 1982, it moved to the current location at 611 W. State St.
Along with the American Legion, there is the American Legion Auxiliary, which formed from the War Mothers, and the Sons of the American Legion.
Although the Legion can be a social club, it also is involved in many community programs.
“We needed to fill a void,” Skalon said.
The organization supported Boy Scouts in the area.
Another responsibility it took on was disposal of American flags. The post has a mailbox on the porch; anyone who has a worn-out flag can take it there, and the Boy Scouts will have a ceremony to dispose of it.
There were 36 members in the original Pendleton post; now there are more than 100.
Veterans from World War I ran the post for many years, then turned leadership over to the veterans of World War II and the Korean War. The World War II veterans ran the post up until 2005.
In the 2000s, things slowed down a little for the post. Veterans weren’t joining, and the older ones had passed away.
Skalon said he had to lean on the staff to help get things moving again.
“Jay Purkey took on more than any human should have,” he said.
Purkey helped get things running again.
Some financial problems set them back in 2019; this along with COVID in 2020 caused some real problems.
“Low morale, debt piling up and low membership were some of our concerns,” Skalon added.
A new board was elected, and the decision was made to keep the building open.
In 2021, the post was able to start looking at getting into programs again.
The bar is used for fundraising; sales increased over 60% in the past year.
One misconception is that a person has to be a veteran to eat at the post.
There are seven public days a month when the post is open to the public.
At other times, people just need to have someone who is a veteran sign them in to eat.
The bar is open for lunch for the first time in years.
Skalon said the post would like to have help organizing its historical items.
“It needs to be documented before we lose the history,” he said. “We feel like we are the best-kept secret in Pendleton.
“Be an advocate for us — we’re back and we’re ready for business.”