Post 197, located in Harbor Beach, Michigan received its charter early in 1920 making it one of the nation’s oldest posts. We are located on the shores of Lake Huron 25 miles south of the tip of the thumb. Our membership averages about 185 members and the American Legion Auxiliary average about 105 members. Our oldest member is Leonard “Pic” DeFrain. Leonard is 98 years old and has been a member for 74 years and still attends most meetings and functions, he is a WWII veteran. We do and are fortune to have as members approximately 10 WWII veterans.
We are a community and veteran oriented post sponsoring or participating in many events including a Legion Birthday Party, blood drives, Poppy Days, Maritime Festival, and a downhill cart derby in July which is open to all ages. In 2017 Post 197 donated a cart to the local Cub Scout den so that they too could participate in the derby. Other activities include elementary school Flag etiquette programs, a scholarship program for the local high school, honor guard funeral ceremonies for any veteran whether a member or nonmember, high school football honor guard ceremonies, and various parades (Memorial Day, July 4th, and Christmas). We also sponsor a Little League Baseball team and participate in a free veteran’s fishing outing sponsored by the Thumb Chapter of the Michigan Steelheaders and participate in the local city wide chili cook off. The Post also has a pistol shooting league open to any member including their spouse. Auxiliary fund raisers include Weekly Monday Bingo and Annual May Poppy Campaign.
Members from other Posts are always welcome at our meetings, if sometime you are in the area and would like to stop by and visit with other veterans our meetings are the first Wednesday of the month at 7:00 PM. We are located on Trescott Street near the beach.