
By PAUL CHASON
Special to Atmore News
The members of Billy Glenn Rushing Post 90 of the American Legion recently had a historic and bittersweet moment in the 101 West Church Street location. Residing and operating from this iconic City of Atmore location for approximately 75 years, we celebrated the transition of our building to its new owners.
We met on January 28, 2025, for the last time in “our” facility. This celebration was postponed from January 21 due to another historic event – our recent winter snowstorm! Active post members, spouses and friends witnessed the transition of ownership and the actions necessary to complete the “closing” paperwork in our meeting hall. Looking across the crowd of members was very, very difficult – the sadness in their eyes and faces was readily apparent. The deafening silence was very unusual for this crew, as each strained to hear the discussion at the front tables. Each in their own way, dealing with the realization that after 75 years, the “Post” would belong to someone else. New members with less than two years with our Post to others that had 50 plus years in this facility all had heavy hearts. WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?
Declining membership and aging members coupled with the loss of reliable revenue created the need to strategically transition this downtown location before it crept into further states of disrepair. We simply could no longer maintain our Post. The important thing to remember is that the American Legion is not the building at 101 West Church Street – it is the members that used this as our meeting location. We are not turning in our charter! Our members are still committed to providing support to our community and the American Legion, we’ll just have to be more flexible where we meet each month!
While the first part of the event was very difficult to witness – we had a wonderful opportunity to share stories, tales of past events, and to share a meal donated by David’s Catfish. We had the opportunity to revisit and talk about our Post. The fact we used to participate in Veterans parades, activities by the Post Honor Guard, the Baseball team we sponsored, the memorable dances and more recently the creation of the Flag Retirement Vault at Cheaha State Park, and with lots of community support – the beautiful Butterfly Garden.
The new owners, Elliot Faircloth and Terrence Breckinridge and their organization are committed to creating a wonderful environment for our community. I can’t wait to see the results. I’m sure it will be very special. Please wish them well and help them create a great place for our community.
Paul Chason is Post 90 Adjutant.