American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 hosting Don Rogers Scholarship benefit, bean supper

The late Don Rogers of Windham served the
American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 for
61 years. A new scholarship to benefit area
students has been set up in his honor.
FILE PHOTO

By Dave Tanguay

Special to The Windham Eagle

It is not summer without bean suppers, so the adage goes.

The American Legion Field-Allen Post 148 was looking at a way to remember the work of our recently passed Post Commander and much loved, Donald F. Rogers of Windham.

Don followed in the family footsteps of his father Maurice Rogers, A founder of the post, Don and his brother Wayne became Legion members shortly after World War II. His wife Norma is an honorary member of the Unity Auxiliary as well and during his 61-year association with the Field-Allen Post, Don was commander on multiple occasions and kept the post going when membership was in decline in the 1990s.

He loved the bean suppers and rarely missed one even into his 90s and anyone who knew Don can't help but remember his warmth and great smile.

In the current COVID-19 climate, it was suggested that the post hold a bean supper on Saturday, July 18 as a curbside event and make it free to the public in honor of Don Rogers. 

It has been proposed to make this an annual event in support of the post’s scholarship program and name the annual scholarships, one for a male and another for a female Windham High School graduate, in honor of Don and to be named the Donald F. Rogers Scholarships.

So, 4 p.m. Saturday, July 18 until the beans run out, the Field-Allen Legion family will host a curbside bean supper pick up, open to the community at the Windham Veterans Center, 35 Veterans Memorial Drive, Windham. 

The menu will be short and features two types of beans (kidney or navy), brown bread or corn bread, coleslaw, red hot dogs and cookies for dessert. 

Those interested in joining the post for a free bean event can drive up to the order desk in the WVC parking lot, place your order, park, and remain in your vehicle while a runner fills your order. 

Those wishing to donate to the Donald F. Rogers Scholarship fund may do so then or by sending their donation to: Field-Allen Post 148 Scholarship, PO Box 1776, Windham, Maine 04062.

For additional information, call 207-892-1306. <

American Legion ceremony retires unserviceable flags

American Legion Fiueld-Allen Post Americanism Officer
David Horne conducts the ceremonial burn of retired
American flags on Flag Day 2020 at the Windham Veterans
Center. In the background are Field-Allen Post members
Eric Bickford, Alola Morrison and Craig Pride.
COURTESY PHOTO BY DAVE TANGUAY  

By Dave Tanguay

Special to The Windham Eagle

Following CDC guidelines of social distancing, face coverings and hand sanitizer, the American Legion’s Field-Allen Post conducted the annual Flag Day ceremony on Sunday, June 14, Flag Day in Wndham.

In previous years, the post collaborated with Boy Scout Troop 805 when conducting the annual ceremonial burn, but did it solo this year because of COVID-19 restrictions.

This year, the Post Americanism Officer, David Horn, selected a small number of flags for the ceremony from bags of hundreds of flags collected by the post since last fall.

The ceremony was open to members of the public who observed the ceremony from their vehicles in the Windham Veterans Center parking lot and it also was the first official ceremony for the post’s new commander, Eric Bickford, who officiated at the event. 

Ceremonial officers attending the event included Commander Bickford, 2^nd Vice Commander Alola Morrison, Sergeant at Arms Richard Graves, and Americanism Officer David Horne. Filling in for the 1^st Vice Commander was Craig Pride and for Chaplain was Dave Tanguay.

After an inspection of the flags, Commander Bickford offered some brief remarks.

“Comrades, we have been presented here with the flags of our country which have been inspected and judged as unserviceable,” Bickford said. “They have reached their present state or condition in the proper service of tribute, memory and love of our country and our veterans.”

He said that a flag may be a flimsy bit of printed gauze or a beautiful banner of the finest silk. 

“Its intrinsic value may be trifling or great, but its real value is beyond price, for it is the precious symbol of all that we and our comrades have worked for, lived for and died for, a free nation of free men and women, true to the faith of the past, devoted to the ideals and practices of justice, freedom and democracy,” he said. “Let these faded flags of our country be retired and destroyed with respect and honorable rites and their place be taken by bright, new flags of the same size and kind and let no grave of our soldiers, sailors, Marines and airman dead, be un-honored and unmarked.”

The ceremony continued with a brief prayer from the chaplain as the flags are placed in the flames to be consumed. 

Words from the Chaplain’s Prayer included, “to a clean and purging flame we commit these flags, worn out in worthy service. As they yield their substance to the fire, may your holy light spread over us and bring our hearts renewed devotion to God and Country.”

If anyone in the community has a flag rendered unserviceable, they may be brought to the Windham Veterans Center on Wednesday mornings from 9 to 11 a.m. for collection by the American Legion Field-Allen Post 148, Windham. <

FOOD4VETS program about to launch in Windham

Shown is the VA truck that will be delivering
food to veterans in need of assistance
and their families at the Windham,Veterans Center
on June 17. SUBMITTED PHOTO BY DAVE TANGUAY

By Dave Tanguay

Special to The Windham Eagle

FOOD4VETS a program funded by the New England Patriot’s organization is hosting major food distribution sites in Maine and throughout New England for veterans and their families who may be food insecure.

This is a multi-organization collaboration with the New England Patriots partnering with 222cares and the VET Center in Lewiston to deliver boxes of food to the Lewiston and Brunswick areas for veterans. The American Legion Field-Allen Post has asked to expand this coverage to include the Route 302 corridor with the addition of sites in Windham and Bridgton.

Plans are to have the sites up for distribution at the Windham Veterans Center, Post 148, in Windham from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 17 and at Post 67 in Bridgton that same day in the afternoon from 2 to 5 p.m.

The Windham Veterans Center is located on an extension road in the back of the Hannaford’s Complex in North Windham.

A box of food will be provided to each family member registered. For example, if there are two individuals in the family, they will receive two boxes etc.

Families in which the veteran has died may still register provided they have the deceased’s DD214 as proof of service.

Veterans or their families needing this support must register on the 222cares.org website and present a DD214 or proof of service at the time of food pick-up.

Please pass this information on to any and all veterans in need of this support.

For families in need of VA contact information, call Jerry Short, Veteran Outreach Program Specialist at 207-623-8411, Ext. 3479 or by email at gerald.short@va.gov.

For more information about Post 148, call 207-892-1306 or by email at dtanguay46@aol.com. <