Texarkana American Legion Post 25/58 celebrates 100th birthday

Texarkana American Legion Post 25 and 58 celebrated their 100th birthday Tuesday with a celebration at the post. Arkansas State Representative Carol Dalby also gave the post a flag that had flown over Little Rock. Shown are, (left to right): Lieutenant Commander Pat McReynolds, American Legion Auxiliary President Ann Nicholas, Post 25 Commander Zelda Mack, Post 58 Commander Dan Nicholson and Rep. Carol Dalby.
Texarkana American Legion Post 25 and 58 celebrated their 100th birthday Tuesday with a celebration at the post. Arkansas State Representative Carol Dalby also gave the post a flag that had flown over Little Rock. Shown are, (left to right): Lieutenant Commander Pat McReynolds, American Legion Auxiliary President Ann Nicholas, Post 25 Commander Zelda Mack, Post 58 Commander Dan Nicholson and Rep. Carol Dalby.

TEXARKANA, Ark. - The Texarkana American Legion Post 25/58 celebrated their 100th birthday Tuesday, along with the 100th anniversary of the legion itself, which was formed March 15, 1919.

Texas Commander Dan Nicholson of Post 58 welcomed attendees to the post, which is the only one in the country to serve two states.

"This is your home. This is everybody's home," he said. "It takes a family to keep it going."

Post 58 in Texarkana, Ark. received a temporary charter on Sept. 3, 1919, the same date the American Legion was formed, he said.

"We are here for our veterans every time they need to go to file for benefits or anything," Nicholson said. "We are the organization to be there for them. We have a team of attorneys in Little Rock there for the veterans."

They have purchased vans and have volunteers to drive the veterans where they need to go. "We always need volunteer drivers," he said.

Zelda Mack, Commander of Post 25 on the Arkansas side, said the celebration was a representation of the support they had received over the past 100 years.

"It shows a lot of support that we have a lot of veterans that show support and need support," she said. "It shows that we are a strong entity and that we will hopefully last for another 100 years."

Arkansas State Representative Carol Dalby also stopped by the celebration to present the post with an American flag that had flown over the capital building in Little Rock.

"I thank y'all for being a steadfast part of our community," Dalby said.

Attendees also toured the Legion's museum, which features photos, memorabilia and baseball trophies from the leagues it has supported over the years.

"We have the only baseball team in the state of Arkansas to win the World Series, that was in 2016 and we helped raised the money to send the Arkansas High Band to Washington, D.C. for the dedication of the World War II Memorial," Nicholson said. The posts also sponsor students to participate in Girls State and Boys State on each side of the line. He added that the Texas side's baseball team won the state tournament three weeks ago and will be heading to a regional tournament soon. The post also donated computers to all the posts in the 12th District, he said.

Mack also said they are in need of more women to join the auxiliary portion of the post.

"Wives, daughters, widows, sisters, granddaughters, anyone connected to the veterans are needed to be involved with the organization," she said.

The post will be holding a cookout for members and veteran guests on Sept. 21 and veterans who would like to join are welcome to stop by that day, Nicholson said.

For more information on the post, call 877-824-4862.

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