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John Powell, past commander of The American Legion Department of West Virginia, addresses the crowd during a Veterans Day Ceremony at WesBanco Arena in 2021. (Photo by Eric Ayres)
American Legion Post 1 is planning to invest more than $400,000 to revamp the Italian American Club in Elm Grove.
Post 1 will host an event at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the IAC building to formally announce its purchase of the building, give tours of its condition, and announce a fundraising initiative to raise more than $400,000 to make necessary upgrades there.
Post 1 actually began the process of purchasing the IAC building more than five years ago, according to John Powell, a past state commander who now serves as president of the Post 1 Home Corporation. The entity has a role to ensure Post 1 has a place to serve local veterans, he said.
Post 1 presently doesn’t have a home, but exists “suitcases throughout the city,” according to Powell.
Members have been meeting at the IAC building for the past two years.
About five years ago members of the Italian American Club approached Post 1 with an interest in selling the building, Powell explained.
“They wanted it to go to an organization that would keep it going in the way it was being used,” he explained. “They wanted it to still be able to be rented and utilized by the public to raise funds from weddings and things like that.”
Over time, a purchase price was agreed to, Powell continued.
Post 1 paid the IAC a base of $20,000 for the 6,080 square foot building and its property. In return, the IAC is to get at least $7,000 of free use there each year “as long as they are in existence,” Powell said.
Over 20 years, the price comes to $160,000.
“They are relieved of the property, and we get the property,” he explained.
A place in the building will be designated as a spot to place items from the IAC as a remembrance of the structure’s history, according to Powell.
“We’re going to preserve that in some manner,” he said. “The letters I-A-C will remain on the building in some shape or form.”
While Post 1 may own the building, it is only common sense to leave the signage because “everybody knows where the IAC building is,” Powell noted.
The bad news is the building was built more than 30 years ago,” and it’s showing wear and tear, he continued.
“There is no insulation in the building,” he said. “The restrooms need updating. There’s a lot of work to be done.
“We’ve contacted some contractors, and to do all the work we need to do – the pricetag right now sits at about $400,000.”
Powell admitted the cost made him sick after he heard it.
Post 1 is putting up the first $50,000 toward the renovation from its own funds, and it will ask the community to donate additional money needed.
The fundraiser Wednesday marks the beginning of the effort.
“If we can raise the money, the benefits to the public and the community will be the payoff,” he said.
There are plans to paint the building. A Post 1 a member who is a professional painter has offered to do the job for free if Post 1 buys the paint.
A former steak fry pit near the parking lot also could be converted into an outdoor wedding chapel, according to Powell.
There will be some cleaning up of the landscape, and paving of the parking lot.
And not last on the list are planned upgrades to the restrooms.
“The bathrooms smell just like they did 20 years ago,” Powell said.
The American Legion is founded on four pillars – Americanism, caring for veterans, caring for children, and national security.
“I can’t think of another building in Wheeling that screams children and youth more than that building – with all the ballfields and children’s activities around there,” Powell said. “I want that building to be the center for things that go on down there.”
Post 1 has a strong membership of about 350, but Powell points out that account for only about 10 percent of the 3,500 veterans he estimates lives in Ohio County.
It is important for the organization to attract members, as veterans who come to Legion posts are made aware of the benefits to which they are entitled.
Veterans contribute $2 billion annually to West Virginia’s economy, according to Powell. When they do not get the benefits due them, the state loses out, he continued.
“The American Legion was never founded as a ‘cantine,'” Powell explained. “It was found as a group to take care of veterans, the children and America.
“However, over the years, when you say American Legion to a veteran it came to mean an old smoky bar room filled with veterans and cheap drinks. That’s not what the American Legion is about.”
Many Legion posts are going away from bars, and looking to return to a focus on the four pillars, he continued.
“The cantine or bar is a losing proposition,” Powell said. “If you don’t have the (gambling) machines, you’re not making money.”
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