Fate of Lamar VFW Determined at July 15 Meeting?

Lamar VFW Post

A membership meeting of the Lamar VFW Post #3621 is set for 6pm, Wednesday, July 15.  The meeting will be held at the post on South Memorial Drive in Lamar, but, according to current Commander, Don Peters, it will be held in the parking lot.

“The State VFW organization came down earlier and locked the building and took the keys,” he explained during a recent phone call interview.  Peters said he has been the Commander of the Lamar VFW for only a couple of months, taking over the position from the former Commander, Alfred Adame.  Nichols explained that lack of membership participation right now is the problem, “We only have four active members out of a total of 53.  If we can’t improve on that, I guess they’ll just shut the doors to the building permanently,” he stated.  He added it may stay closed, or the State VFW might sell the building.

It’s been used over the past several years as a meeting place for the VFW organization and has also been rented out for various reasons, from wedding receptions and banquets to dances.  It has had a sketchy past, as according to Nichols, it has been closed once before for a suspension.  The County has granted a liquor license to the post, but apparently it has been opened only rarely.

Nichols added, “We have until August 1^st to file an appeal, but I need to know where the membership stands on this and what they intend to do if they want to keep the post open.  A lot of people have been disappointed over the way this has turned out.”

By Russ Baldwin