For the first time in 14 years, the New Hampshire American Legion has chartered a new auxiliary unit, and it has landed at Myers-Prescott-Olson Post 50 in Antrim.
The group was chartered with 16 founding members and an eye toward helping revive the post and the surrounding community. Post 50 received its charter on Jan. 27 and held its installation on April 24, according to founding member and president Gwen LaFave. Ten members are needed to charter a new auxiliary.
“I had five ladies that were interested, and come to find out we needed 10,” LaFave said. “So I asked around, and we ended up getting 16.”
The effort took root in conversations with post commander Lt. Col. (Retired) Tamasine Wood-Creighton, whom LaFave met during Antrim’s Home & Harvest festival.
“You don’t want to see a post closed,” LaFave said. “And one of the ways to bring a post back is to have their auxiliary.”
Wood-Creighton said the auxiliary is like a reawakening for the post.
“It’s the first auxiliary unit we’ve had in 30 years,” she said.
Wood-Creighton said the post hopes to attract younger veterans, and an auxiliary is a great way to do that.
“It sets a nice tone for a family organization to get off the ground,” she said.
LaFave framed the chapter as part of a broader revival in Antrim, pointing to the Historical Society’s restoration work and the growing Home & Harvest celebration.
“Antrim is starting to come more back to life,” she said. “The Historical Society is rescuing [the Brown Church]. Home & Harvest is getting bigger every year, and that’s kind of what started it. We wanted to keep going with the community and bring the chapter back to life. Too many auxiliaries are closing. Too many posts are closing. We don’t want that to happen.”
Wood-Creighton hopes to see the auxiliary help the post engage more with the community and children in town.
“We already watch out for our veterans,” she said. “I’d like to see us watch out more for our community.”
The post recently added an American Legion Riders chapter, and members are hopeful a Sons of the American Legion squadron could follow eventually. LaFave said that it will take time and the right volunteers.
The auxiliary’s first major fundraiser is a “Bug Run” on Sunday, June 28, hosted jointly with the American Legion Riders and the Cruz’n Knights. Sign-up begins at 10 a.m. at American Legion Post 50, 7 West St., Antrim, with a parade through town at 11 a.m. Vehicles will then follow a predetermined route to Jaffrey American Legion Post 11 at 20 Webster St. The event ends at 4 p.m. and runs rain or shine. Refreshments, raffles and prizes will be available.
A “Bug Run” works like this: Participants buy target stickers for $5 each and place them on a vehicle. Four divisions — cars, motorcycles, Jeeps and trucks — will compete. If a real bug splatters on the bullseye of a target by the end of the route, the rider is eligible for a prize.
“It’s going to be fun,” LaFave said. “I’ve talked to the Antrim police. They’ll be directing the traffic and everything. Hopefully, we’ll have different youth groups out there waving us on.”
Wood-Creighton said she’s excited to see the auxiliary taking shape.
“We’re happy to have the auxiliary and happy with what they’re already doing,” she said. “I’m happy to have them.”
She said the date was chosen to avoid conflicts with other regional events.
“There’s a lot of stuff going on in June, but we figured June’s the buggiest month,” she said, noting the run is scheduled around Laconia Bike Week and various Legion Riders breakout runs.
The event will be held rain or shine, and targets unused on the day of the run count as a donation to the post. “If you don’t make it, then you get a beautiful donation to the post,” LaFave said.
Looking ahead, the auxiliary plans fundraisers to support the local food pantry and to help veterans in need.
“If a veteran’s in need, they can reach out to us,” LaFave said. “We’ve done things for veterans in the past, and a lot of people I’ve talked to have helped out other veterans, even from Peterborough. The surrounding communities are very helpful.”
Membership is open to spouses, mothers, daughters and granddaughters of veterans of any war. Dues are $28 a year. Eligibility was expanded in 2019 to cover relatives of veterans from all conflicts; previously, it had been limited to certain wars.
LaFave, who is 70, said her interest in the work is personal. Her mother served in the Army Air Corps and her father in the Navy during World War II.
“It’s in my family. I’m very proud of my parents, and I like to do things to honor them,” she said. “Volunteering gets me out, gets me talking with people, gives me a purpose. I meet people I probably never would have met if I didn’t start volunteering.”
She also pointed to Vietnam veterans as a particular focus. “I lost a lot of friends in Vietnam. And I know how a lot of the Vietnam vets — even my friends who came back — it was hard. They didn’t come back the same. They have another place in my heart.”
The auxiliary can also help prospective members track down veteran service records, LaFave said, including for relatives whose paperwork was lost in the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire.
“A lot of the records in Washington were destroyed. But a lot of little towns, if you know the town they came back to, they keep records, too,” she said. “We have a lot more resources than before.”
Those interested in joining can send a message through the chapter’s Facebook page, American Legion Auxiliary Myers-Prescott-Olson Unit 50 Antrim NH.
