Greetings:

Now that fall is here with cooler weather and the changing fall colors, I hope this finds everyone doing okay and to get out and enjoy the beauty that nature has to offer.

We will be getting into the holiday season with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years not too far off and I wish everyone a great holiday season and hopes for a good coming year.

We continue to have some great food and drink specials here at the Post, hope you can come and try some.

I want to again thank all those that volunteer and help here at the Post and those that come to the Post.We need to remember all our veterans and their families where ever they served and are serving.I hope everyone has a great holiday season and stays safe.

Well, I think that’s all for now.God Bless America!

Your Commander:

George Buckmaster

P.S. 1st Wednesdays, House Committee 6:00,

Post meetings at 7:00 pm on the 1st Wednesday each month.

Please attend if you can!

Adjutant’s Notes

Greetings my Ghouls n Goblins out there… lol, oh well. Halloween is over, but the sugar high still goes on. Before I get too far into the newsletter, I just wanted to remind you all about our annual Veteran’s Day Ceremony at the Goshen Courthouse. 11 Nov, (Sat) at 11:00. On the 10th, some of us are going to a couple nursing homes to present a service for their veterans too. Please keep our older vets in mind on our special day.

Daylight Savings – yes, it’s coming again. Really wish the Governor would stop the insanity, but you know the gov’t. Thanksgiving Day is coming up at the end of the month (so to speak). And, of course Christmas in Dec. Please, say a special prayer for our troops abroad who can’t be home with their families, and the families who won’t have their spe-cial person there.

On a side (but very special) note. The Goshen PD’s annual “Cops and Kids” (formerly known as shop w/a cop) will be on Monday, December 18th. They come to the V for a pre-shopping photo, and then cara-van out to shop. It is really cool. Twenty or so police cars, lights n sirens – the kids love it! Afterwards, they come back to the V for a pizza party. Anybody wanting to donate, please drop a check off at the V or the GPD (Cops and Kids). If you have good, slightly used toys or outer garments you can drop them off the Friday or Saturday before. These are the kids who wouldn’t have a Christmas without the cops and us.

For trivia this month. On the TV show Bones; A) External shots of the fictional Jeffersonian Institute are actually shots of the? B) What was Phycological Profiler Lance Sweets favorite food?

As always, you’re Adj
Jeff

Chaplain’s Corner

Good day to all, and hope you are all doing well! Our weather is changing and we will be soon facing snow and ice, a slip hazard especially for us older folks. For the young and old be extremely careful or your health can change in an instant.

Praying for all veterans and their family that the good lord bless them all!

Chaplain John

Trivia Answers:
A) Natural History Museum in Los Angeles
B) Pizza

Auxiliary

Wow, I can’t believe how time is flying. We are 30 days away from Thanksgiving and 60 days away from Christmas.
Our annual children’s Christmas party will be on Sunday, December 10th from 2:00 to 4:00pm. Please bring a wrapped gift for your child with their name on it for Santa to give them upon his arrival. If you have any questions regarding the party, please feel free to reach out to Jan Santos or myself.

On October 23rd we were honored to host the National VFW Auxiliary President Carla Martinez from Utah at our post. Thank you to all who attended and helped prepare and serve the meal for the evening.

As we approach the holidays, please be safe and enjoy your family and friends.

Angie McKee
President

Upcoming Events

Trivia Night
Nov. 16th and Dec. 14 starting 6:30
Black Friday Party, November 24th
Band, Unsupervised starting at 7 pm
Food Drive for the Salvation Army
Point & Click
December 8th
Peanut here on November 22nd 7 – 10
Kids Christmas Party
December 10th, 2 -4 pm
Post Closed
November 23rd, December 23rd to 26th

Greetings:

Here we are in September with fall on the way and cooler weather and I hope this finds everyone doing okay. School has opened again and we need to be watchful of the children going to and from school.

We continue to have food and drink specials several times a week here at the Post, so stop in and try some. I again want to thank all the volunteers who help here at the Post and all those that come to the Post. A special thank you to Jerri for all she does.

We need to continue to remember all our veterans and their families where ever they served and are serving and those having health issues.

In closing, enjoy the fall weather and stay safe.

God Bless America!
Your Commander:
George Buckmaster

P.S. 1st Wednesdays, House Committee 6:00, Post meetings at 7:00 p.m. on the 1st Wednesday each month. Please attend if you can!

Adjutant’s Notes

Well, summer came back in a big way last week! Whew, 90’s plus. At least it’s supposed to be cooling down now as it’s September. Just a couple of head’s up things… Saturday 9 September is our For Vets by Vets dinner/fundraiser. Make sure you buy your tick-ets and come on down! A huge thanks to Caleb for putting this whole thing together.

Also, the Ride to Remember (the 9-11) ride is coming up the day after, Sunday 11 Sept. 1,000 bikes (give or take) will participate again this year. They leave Hoosier Harley ride around the county, and stop in Goshen at the GPD for a brief ceremony. The bikes will arrive around 2:30, so please stop by the GPD too. It’s to honor our fallen brothers and sisters in the Military, Police, and Fire (for Elkhart County).

The last week in September the Goshen PD has an Honor Guard camp again this year. Police and Fire from everywhere come here to take the week-long class. I like to invite the “kids” to the V in the evenings after class. Great food and great people, and most are veterans too! Stop in and welcome them into the fold.

In October we’ll welcome all the ghouls and goblins for Halloween. Remember to watch for all the shenanigans of our little trick-or-treating friends. Also, I really hate to add this part; keep an eye on them as they come and go from your homes. In this day and age, you really can’t be too careful.

Membership, membership, membership! It’s always a big topic at District 3 meetings. I remember when I became a member some 20+ years ago. We had somewhere between 800 – 900 members (for the Post). The Aux was even bigger. Now, we’re down to under 300. Whenever you see a vet wearing a “I served our military” ball caps, ask if they’re a VFW member. If not, hand them an app!

Trivia for this newsletter: 1) In the TV show Bones, what was Psychological Profiler Lance Sweets favorite food? 2) What was Psychological Profiler Lance Sweets favorite song?

As always, your Adj
Jeff

Chaplain’s Corner

Good morning to all! I hope everyone is enjoying the summer but sorry to say fall is coming quicker than we think. I am hoping and praying for our veterans and their families for God’s blessing. If any-one deserves it is our veterans and those who are serving now!

If you know a veteran who is in need please let me know! God bless all of you!

Chaplain John

Trivia Answers:
1) Pizza (obviously a cool dude)
2) Put the Lime in the Coconut

Auxiliary

Hard to believe that fall is just around the corner and football season has started. I am not sure where the summer went.
Not to sound like a broken record, but we always looking for more people to help us out on the 2nd and 3rd Fridays either in the kitchen or serving. If you are interested in helping, please feel free to contact me directly at angiemckee1@comcast.net or at 574-536-7763.

I want to thank the golf committee that put together the annual Rex Vander Reyden golf outing which was held this past weekend. From the pictures that I have seen, it looks like good time was had by all.

We will be heading to the final South Bend Cubs game on Sunday, September 10th. Game time is 2pm and we will have tickets for the patio deck, including a ticket, hat and a picnic buffet for 2 hours. The cost of the ticket would be $34.00 and if you are interested in going, please let Jan Santos know as there are a limited number of tickets available.

Please mark your calendars that we meet on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7pm.

Enjoy the upcoming Labor Day weekend.
Angie McKee, President

I hope this finds everyone doing well and are able to get out and enjoy the sunshine and warm weather. We could use some rain with everything drying out and turning brown.

Greetings:

A reminder that the Post will be closed July 1st – 4th for the holiday and will re-open on Wednesday the 5th.

The Auxiliary will be having their golf outing later this summer with details to follow. I would again like to thank all the volunteers that help out at the Post and everyone that comes to the Post. Without you, we would not be open.
We need to remember all our veterans and their families, for all that they have done and are doing, where ever they serve.

Well that’s all for now. Have a great holiday and summer.

God Bless America!

Your Commander:

George Buckmaster

P.S. 1st Wednesdays, House Committee 6:00, Post meetings at 7:00 pm on the 1st Wednesday each month.

Please attend if you can!

Adjutant’s Notes

Happy 4th of July! I hope everybody is enjoying the festivities of our na-tion’s birthday. As you throw another burger or brat on the barbie, please say a silent prayer for those brothers n sister’s who died, were wounded, and all of us who came back to give that to us. One nation, under god, something we can all stand behind.

I also wanted to thank the VFW Aux for the upcoming Annual Golf Out-ing, and I hope everybody signed up. It’s always a great time, with great peo-ple. I’m bringing Team Air Guard again this year, and we’re going to walk away with all the trophies! (we’re gonna sneak in and swipe them…)

The Post Memorial Service as well as the Memorial Day services and pa-rade went pretty darn good. I want to thank everybody who came out and participated in one way or another.

There’s not a whole lot on the Post calendar these next few months, other than the already great stuff we have every week. Great food, great peo-ple, and a whole lot of fun.

Remember the Elkhart Co Fair the last week of July. If memory serves, the first Friday is a free day for all vets. I also hear we might have a booth or table or something out there, so stop by and take your friends to see it. As always, please tell all your veteran friends about the VFW and American Le-gion. We’re always looking for new members!

Trivia for this newsletter: On the TV show “Bones, 1) What is the name of the diner they always go to? 2) What was something that Character Spe-cial Agent Booth brought to his character on the show?

As always, your Adj, Jeff

Chaplain’s Corner

Good day to all and am praying for great days ahead this year for you!. With God’s blessing we should all thank him. I know some of you are suffering due to illness and age. Continue to pray for his healing touch and guidance.

We are now into summer and please enjoy it. Bless all of you and have a great summer.

John

Trivia Answers:
1) Royal Crown Dinner
2) Cocky belt buckle and wild socks

Auxiliary

It is hard to believe that it is almost July. I would like to thank those who continually are helping with the Swiss Steak and Broasted Chicken dinners. With that said, we are always looking for more people to help us out on the 2nd and 3rd Friday’s either in the kitchen or serving. If you are interested in helping, please feel free to reach out to me directly at angiemckee1@comcast.net or at 574-536-7763.

We have the annual Rex Vander Reyden golf outing coming up on Sunday, August 27th at Raber Golf Course in Bristol. The deadline to register is August 4th. In September we are looking to do a South Bend Cubs game. We are going to have tickets for the patio deck which includes a ticket, hat and a picnic buffet for 2 hours. We are looking to have transportation to the game. The cost of the ticket would be $34.00 plus the cost of transportation. If you are interested in going, please let Jan Santos know.

Enjoy the upcoming 4th of July holiday.

Angie McKee
President

Greetings:
I hope this finds everyone safe and well. The weather is getting better with warmer and sunnier days and a chance to get outside and enjoy it.

Some of the events coming up this month are: The Post Memorial Service on the 25th and the Memorial Day programs on the 29th. I hope everyone can attend these services.

I again want to thank all the volunteers that help at the Post and everyone that comes into the Post. Without them, we would not be open and a special THANK YOU to Jerri for all that she does.

We need to remember all our veterans and their families, both active and retired, wherever they serve.

Well that’s all for now.

God Bless America!

Your Commander:
George Buckmaster
P.S. 1st Wednesdays, House Committee 6:00,
Post 7:00 meetings. May 3rd will be Post elections and installation.

Adjutant’s Notes

Hey, summer is finally here! (well, more or less…) It is after all, Indiana. If you don’t like the weather, wait 5 minutes. While I’m sitting here drinking my diet Mt Dew, I wanted to remind everybody about the Post Memorial Service. It’ll be the Thursday right before Memorial Day weekend. It’s where we remember our fallen brothers n sisters (VFW & American Legion) who passed in the last year. If you know their families, please remember to invite them too.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t remind everybody about the Memorial Day Parade, and 3 ceremonies that go on. For the folks in “Reolinda”, it’s on Memorial Day; the last Monday in May.

0845 Bridge service (Lincoln Ave)
0900 Courthouse service (Goshen courthouse)
1015 Parade steps off (Goshen PD, going on N Main/W Pike to Oakridge)
1100 Oakridge service

Applications to be in the parade are at the VFW, DAV and Goshen PD. As always, the VFW will be open afterwards. Please stop by and hoist a “root beer” to our fallen brothers n sisters.

Also, when your BBQing afterwards, please remember to say a little prayer. Wheth-er they never returned, or passed here at home. Every year, the remains of soldiers are being identified and returned to our homeland.

On a lighter note, Mother’s Day is coming up Sun, 14 May. Remember to give her a call, I’m told they like that sort of thing. If, like mine, they have passed; stop by and see them to say a few words. Police or Peace Officer Memorial Day is 15 May. Armed Forces Day is Sat, 20 May. It’s for all those who served. In June, Sun the 18th is Father-Day.

Please stop by the V and hang out w/all the “cool kids” (and, yes, me too). I know Jan is probably chomping at the bit to get me off my rant, so here’s trivia for this newslet-ter.

On the TV show the A-Team, 1) What was the crime they were imprisoned for? 2) Which of the actors first name was never revealed?

Your Adj, Jeff

Answers:
1) In 1972, the A-Team was sent on a covert mission to rob the Bank of Hanoi of gold bullion, with the intent of helping to end the Vietnam War. They succeeded, only to find that their commanding officer had been mur-dered in a traitorous double-cross and his headquarters burned to the ground. Unable to prove that they were acting under orders, they were sent to a maximum-security stockade.
2) Captain H.M. (Howlin Mad) Murdock

Chaplain’s Corner

Happy Spring to all and hoping all is well for you and your families.

It is a great time to begin to review our blessings from the good Lord. I continue to pray for our vet-erans who served and for those who are serving now. Please take the time to pray for those who gave all for our great country!

If you know of a veteran who is in need please let me know. Until next time have a great Spring!

Auxiliary

Wow, time sure is flying by! April showers are hopefully bringing May flowers. Along with May flow-ers, May also brings the Auxiliary’s Election of Officers. I feel as though I have fulfilled a lega-cy. Many folks may not know this, but, my grandfather, George F Heffner, served in the US Army and was a WWII Veteran and served as Commander of VFW Post 985 in the 1970’s. Also in the 1970’s, my grandmother, Senora Heffner(Neff), served as Auxiliary President of VFW Post 985. My mother, Karen Douwsma(Heffner), was a 60 year member of VFW Post Auxiliary. My father, Bernard Douwsma, served in US Army in Vietnam. It’s been quite an honor to serve as your President.

I would like to thank all the officers and others that have been there to guide the Auxiliary along. We cannot do this without you! I would like to especially thank Jan Santos! She does so many things for the Post and is very giving of her time. Please take the time to thank her when you see her!

All that being said, this is, most likely, my last article for the newsletter. We have a new nominee for President and am looking forward to participating more in activities with my family. I’m not sure that I have worthy as your President, but, tried to get everyone rowing the same direction. This is not an easy task.

There is still time to help form the growing Auxiliary by coming to our monthly meetings, always the second Wednesday of every month at 7 pm. Again, we are nominating and electing officers at this meeting! Please come and help vote in our new Officers and have a hand in what the Auxiliary does!

We always need more help in the kitchen on our Swiss Steak and Broasted Chicken Dinner nights! Swiss Steak is always the second Friday of the month and Broasted Chicken is the third Wednes-day, Thursday, and Friday of each month. We can always use more help washing dishes, serving, plating, and cooking the meals!

Also, take some time in May/June to remember our Veterans! May 29th is Memorial Day and we’ll be honoring those Veterans that sacrificed everything with several ceremonies and don’t forget the parade. Flag Day is June 14th! Fly it high and proud!

Tim D.

I hope everyone is surviving the ice, snow and cold. Spring and warmer weather will eventually get here so you can enjoy the outdoors and sunshine.

I want to thank everyone that comes to the Post and those that get our food and drink specials. I also want to again thank all those that volunteer their time at the Post. Without those that come and those that volunteer, we would NOT be open. We can still use more help so if you have some free time and want to help, we can use you.

Keep watching the Post newsletter for upcoming events. Again thank to everyone. Remember all veterans and their families where ever they are serving.

That’s all for now.

God Bless America!

Your Commander:
George Buckmaster
P.S. 1st Wednesdays, House Committee 6:00, Post 7:00 meetings.
Commander’s Notes
Gaming Number 98045 March/April, 2023

P.S. 1st Wednesdays, House Committee 6:00, Post 7:00 meetings.

Adjutant’s Notes

Hey kids! Whaz-up? As the saying goes – yes, I kill me.

Just wanted to give everybody a heads-up thing. Saturday, March 18th at the St Paddy’s Day Part-A, we’ll be having the mortgage burning party too. Yes, we originally intended to do it at our 100th Anniversary last fall; but that didn’t happen. So, please come by and remember our fallen brothers and sisters who came into the fold before us. Those people, our veterans and their families (who are OUR families too) worked hard to get, and maintain our Post. Both VFW and American Legion.

Their legacy is their children and grandchildren who still love and come to the V too. The “Executive Staff” or “Post Admin” want to especially thank Ed Hutchinson who do-nated money to pay off our mortgage. I’ve asked his family to come and be a part of the festivities too. IF, and I mean IF I missed anybody; please let them know we want them to be there.

Just as a friendly reminder, Spring comes mid-March. Remember to set those clocks forward. Yes… I hate this stuff too. But… being retired I GET TO SLEEP THROUGH IT! In April, on the first – please leave a friend a message to call Mr. Lions at the Ft Wayne Zoo…. Then Palm Sunday and Easter are next.

I also want to thank all those who do Bingo, food, ticket sales and all the vol-unteer work around the post. It doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated. I’d also like to extend an invitation to go to the VFW District Meetings. You do get a lot of info there, and… ahem, at the Post meetings too. Please go there and give your opin-ions there. It’s the best way to get something done – maybe even step up to the plate and run the program how you think it should be done!

Gotta get goin’ or Jan will cut me off. Trivia for this newsletter: Gotta set the way-back machine for these. On the TV show The Munster’s; 1) who played Herman Munster? 2) What was a previous roll he is very well known for? BONUS: B) Where did the phrase “set the way-back machine” come from and who said it?

As always, your Adj J

Chaplain’s Corner

With high hopes, I pray for the new spring and new year. May your prayers be granted!

In God’s name we pray!

Chaplain John Alheim

Trivia Answers:
1) Fred Gwynne,
2) he played Francis Muldoon in Car-54
Bonus: Mr. Peabody to his boy Sherman

Auxiliary

Can’t believe March is here already!

St Patrick’s Day and Easter are right around the corner! Of course this means Spring is nearly here too…we’ll see I guess!

This is a great time to get involved with the Auxiliary! As always, we are constantly looking for new volunteers to help with our dinner nights every month. We host the Swiss Steak Dinner every second Friday of the month and we are in charge of the Chicken Dinner every third Friday of the month. Both are served from 5pm until gone.

Attending our monthly meetings are a great way to get involved also. Come see how/why we do some of the things we do. We meet every second Wednesday of the month at 7pm. April/May we will be accepting nominations of officers and having elections. Please come be an active part of the Auxiliary!

We have also starting to have our organizational meetings for our annual Golf Outing in August. If you’d like to become involved with the golf outing, please let one of us know or even better, attend a meeting, as we usually discuss golf outing matters.

One last thing that you can get involved with are the Memorial Day Services. Meet-ings will be starting soon, if not already.

Thank you to all Veterans!

Tim D