Heavily damaged in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Post 61 in Mountain City reopens a year later.
For years, the members of American Legion Post 61 in Mountain City, Tenn., had been collecting donations for the National Emergency Fund (NEF) at the post’s monthly meetings, never thinking they would need to rely on NEF assistance themselves.
That changed a year ago when the aftermath of Hurricane Helene flooded their post building.
Now, “we look back and we say, now we know why it’s important to donate to the NEF,” said Bob Hensley, Post 61’s first vice commander and past NECman for the Department of Tennessee.
Heavy rains from Helene caused millions of dollars in damages to Mountain City and other communities in Tennessee, North Carolina and other states in late September 2024. Hensley said the creek behind Post 61 overflowed into the building, leaving behind three inches of mud and six inches of water that soaked into the walls.
“It was a major process, having to get that repaired,” Hensley said.
But blessings — in the form of volunteers from states as far away as Illinois, Kentucky and Virginia — helped ensure Post 61 would reopen.
“Without the volunteers’ help, we never would have been able to get this done,” Hensley said.
“We still have some work to do. We need to replace the gutters, we have some roof issues. The wiring all had to be redone because of the leaks. But we’re 99 percent repaired.”
In addition to the help of the volunteers and the financial benefit of the $10,000 NEF grant, Post 61’s renovation was aided by donations from other American Legion departments and the local VFW post.
“We’ve had a lot of assistance from everyone. This was an extreme case of the Legion Family being Legion Family. We just had so much support from other departments,” Hensley said. “In fact, two days after the hurricane, I believe it was Post 66 out of Clarion, Pa., they sent people down and they helped us tear out the carpet and take stuff out to the curb… even left us a donation.
“… The local VFW post donated $500 for us to buy new tables. It’s been a collaboration with different VSO’s, with the Legion Family from different departments; we just couldn’t do it without them,” Hensley added.
Post 61’s Legion Family made a point of thanking those who helped during a special event on Sept. 12 — the first meeting inside the building since the previous September, pre-Helene.
Post 61 presented letters of appreciation and a donation to the volunteers from the Baptist Convention of Virginia who helped with the repairs, and dignitaries including Department of Tennessee Commander Todd McKinley, First District Commander Michele Perry, and Post 61 Commander Steve Elks cut the ribbon on the renovated post.
McKinley, with help from Be The One advocate Ellie Carpenter, also presented former Post 61 Commander Frank Bass with a proclamation announcing the day as Frank Bass Day in the department. Bass’ 13 years as post commander included the flooding and renovation after Helene.
- Emergency