Greetings from American Legion Post 24! Yes, we are still alive and well and remain a vital part of the Marlborough community. You might have noticed that we’ve moved. After several years occupying the building along RT 101 on the Dublin line, the Post sold the property in late 2017 so that we could relieve ourselves of the burden of maintaining a building that was underutilized. The Post realized a substantial cash influx and made several smart investments which will keep the Post solvent for years to come and allow us to continue with our community work as well as other various programs.
The Post now calls the Marlborough Community House home. We meet there the second Tuesday of each month at 6PM – this will be our home for the foreseeable future. All Veterans, as well as community members, are welcome to attend meetings at any time. Although the Post roster boasts a membership of nearly 40 – this is on paper only. As with many other Legion Posts, we count on only a small percentage of membership to remain active in the Post in order to execute our many programs. This small group includes the current Post Officers all of which reside in Marlborough and the surrounding towns of Dublin, Jaffrey, Swanzey and Keene. Trent Boehmler, a resident of Marlborough and owner of Main Crust Company, is now the Post 24 Commander taking over from John Fletcher who was the commander for many years. Dana Whitehouse, the Adjutant and Post Historian is a resident of Marlborough, he has been serving in that capacity for the last seven years. Charlie Seaver is the Post Service Officer and resident of Keene. Michael Ball is the Senior Vice Commander. Formerly from Marlborough, he is currently residing in Swanzey and has been a member of the Post for years. The remaining Post Officers have recently joined us and are enthusiastically executing their duties. Brian Durocher of Marlborough assumed the duties as Post Sergeant-at-Arms when Alan Williams stepped down because of health reasons. Jerry Branch of Dublin is the Junior Vice Commander, Barry Furnival of Jaffrey is the Post Judge Advocate. Leo Plante of Dublin is the Post Chaplain and Financial Officer and will be assuming the additional responsibility of District 1 Historian shortly.
2019 is the Centennial of the American Legion. In 1919, members of the newly formed Keene American Legion Post attended a meeting of the Marlborough Veterans Association to persuade those to members to form a Post in Marlborough. The Keene mission was successful and in August 1920 an American Legion Charter was presented to the
Clarence J. Croteau Post No 24 of the Department of New Hampshire. In 1948, the original Post Charter would be altered in order to recognize another Marlborough resident who made the ultimate sacrifice in time of war, but that’s a subject for another occasion.
The Post is proud of the many things we do for the community each year. Last year the Post sponsored a Boy Scout Eagle Scout for the American Legion Boys State Program .
Boys State is a highly selective educational program of government instruction for U.S. high school students. It is a participatory program in which students become part of the operation of local, county and state government. in education. The Post presented the American Legion School Award to a deserving Marlborough School student as well as awarding four $1000.00 academic scholarships to students from Marlborough and Dublin. The Post maintains and puts up the National Flags that fly along Main Street throughout the spring and summer. The Post sponsors and participates in the Memorial Day ceremony and parade each spring. Each June, the Post conducts a Flag Disposal Ceremony at the newly created Memorial Park adjacent to the Marlborough School. The Post plans to put additional work into the park, adding a burn pit, paved pathways, and benches in the future. Our Post also founded and sponsors the annual Marlborough Mad Dash 5K race. In November, the Post presents a Veterans Day Ceremony at the Frost Free Library near Monument Park. Finally, in December, the Post is a co-sponsor of the annual Christmas Tree Lighting. In addition to the many activities outlined above, our Post has also hosted several Toys-for-Tots Christmas Parties, Community Breakfasts, Grandmas Table and members visit with veterans residing in assisted living facilities throughout the area.
This year, the Centennial Year of the American Legion, Croteau-Coutts Post 24 will continue to serve the Marlborough Community as we have in the past. The flags will again go up along Main Street, there will be Memorial Day and Veteran Day activities, Flag Day will be recognized, and the Mad Dash will be run. All of the Post activities this year will have the Centennial of the American Legion as a theme culminating with a ceremony at Memorial Park in September, celebrating the day when the national organization was formally chartered by Congress in 1919.
Our Post looks forward to the opportunity of informing and educating the Marlborough community in the months and years ahead, using this newsletter as our voice. We are excited to share the Croteau-Coutts Post 24 history as well as inform all as to current and future Post activities. In a little over a year, our Post will celebrate its own centennial and we hope to make this a memorable occasion for the entire community. Stay tuned for more…