Membership challenge 95 years ago

Chartered in 1919, American Legion Edward B. Cutter Post 102 in Anoka, Minn., held its first membership challenge from March 6 to June 5, 1923.

Post members were divided into two teams – A and B – and credit was given to each team for every new or renewed member and their attendance at post meetings. The post commander, adjutant and finance officer kept record of the teams recruiting efforts.

The winning team was to be the guests of the losing team at a banquet at the post on June 5. And the winning team chose the menu.

The post members were reminded that “every veteran of the World War (I) is eligible to join whether he served overseas or not.” A new member was required to bring his or her discharge papers and membership fee of $2.75, and “we will show you how to get more for your money than you ever did before.”

This information about Post 102’s membership challenge was gathered from a newspaper article in the Anoka Herald. Much of Post 102’s nearly 100-year history that is featured on the Legion’s Centennial website, www.legion.org/centennial, has been gathered from 189 articles in local newspapers, post records, commander scrapbooks and personal recollections.