
To kick off its 100th anniversary celebration, Post 106 is conducting an art/poster contest with high school students in the area. And $600 in prize money will be awarded to the top five winners.
Capt. James B. Scarr American Legion Post 106 in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., will celebrate its centennial in September 2019. To kick off its 100th anniversary celebration, Post 106 is conducting an art/poster contest with high school students in the area. And $600 in prize money will be awarded to the top five winners.
Post 106’s art/poster contest is challenging participants to create something that denotes the 100th anniversary of the post. Participants will upload a digital image of their artwork to the visitor’s section of Post 106’s Facebook page. From Feb. 16 to March 14 people can vote; winners will be decided by the most number of “likes.”
The winners of the contest will have their artwork featured alongside the post’s centennial timeline, which will be displayed inside the town’s public library. Members of the post are currently working with Hasbrouck Heights High School teachers and students to create that timeline. “We are excited to see what the high school students come up with,” said Post 106 First Vice Commander Patrick McCarthy.
Post 106 was chartered in September 1919 and is named after World War I Lt. James Bernard Scarr, who was posthumously promoted to captain. Scarr left his position as a teacher and athletic director at Hasbrouck Heights High School to serve in the Army. He was assigned to the 30th U.S. Infantry Third Division. On the evening of June 6, 1918, in France, Scarr was administering first aid to three wounded men when a high-explosive shell exploded nearby. Scarr was killed instantly; his broken watch marked the exact time of his death at 2:15 a.m.
Scarr’s younger brother who was wounded in the war, Francis J. Scarr, served as Post 106’s first commander.
McCarthy said the post was very active in its early years and that there’s “a lot of history intertwined between the post and the community.” The post sponsored boxing matches, a bowling league, junior baseball team, fairs, minstrel shows, dances and other entertainment all without a post home. Post 106 still doesn’t have a home; members meet at the senior center. In his research of Post 106, McCarthy was amazed to learn that 1922 Post Commander Albert E. Browne went on to serve as the mayor of Hasbrouck Heights from 1938-1944.
The American Legion wants to hear how your post is celebrating its centennial. Share (what, where and when) by sending an email to dispatch@legion.org.
- Dispatch