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The 1960's - The
Fire
| During
the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, Post 177 became the center
of all major activities in the then rapidly growing Town of
Fairfax. In 1961, as a result of a dispute with Fairfax County,
the Town seceded from the County (something the South was never
quite able to accomplish) and became an independent City of
Fairfax. John C. Wood (who many call the founder of the City of
Fairfax and of George Mason University) lived only a stone’s
throw from the Post Home. The Sons and Daughters of the American
Legion performed civic duties. The Ladies Auxiliary sent young
ladies to the newly founded Girls State. The Post performed many
community projects and sent boys to Boys State. There was not
only an American Legion baseball team, but also a Junior
American Legion baseball team (similar to what is now Babe
Ruth). The Post had a majorette program with uniforms. The
annual City fireworks show on the 4th of July was
held on the post property and adjoining Fairfax High School (now
Pope Paul VI High School) grounds, sponsored primarily by Post
177 --- Legion members even set off the fireworks annually until
1993. All large public events were held on the grounds of Post
177, the adjacent Old Fairfax High School, or in
Chilcott Hall (the only large room available for social
functions for miles). |
News
clipping from The Fairfax County SUN ECHO, Thursday,
June 28, 1962.
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In
1959, the Post decided to lease a small portion of the Post’s
land to allow McDonald’s Corporation to build a restaurant on
the corner of Lee Highway and Oak Street for $300 per month for
the next 15 years. The Post’s financial picture was improving.
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| Then
disaster struck early in the morning of September 14, 1964. A
fire, that may have started in the radio station or the kitchen,
quickly spread and grew to an inferno. By sunrise, all that
remained of a once elegant structure was a burned out shell.
Gone were the radio station, the Club Room, Chilcott Hall, and
all of the Post’s amenities. |
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Undaunted,
the Post held a meeting on September 21st to discuss
rebuilding. The reality of the fire struck home to the members
when it was revealed that the building’s insurance did not
cover the mortgage.
An
engineering firm was hired to evaluate the remaining structure,
resulting in a determination that the brick and concrete
foundation, though fire scarred, was sound and could support
re-building --- a tribute to the members of the Post who had
built the original structure mostly with volunteer labor.
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The
Headline from The Washington Daily News on Monday,
September 14, 1964 shows the scope of the disaster. |
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The
radio station was soon up and running again in borrowed
facilities. The Post built a new building on the corner of Cedar
Avenue (now Panther Place) and Oak Street and then leased that
building and the land under the radio towers to a succession of
owners of the radio station – bringing much needed revenue
into the Post. [That "radio studio" building was
completely renovated in 1998-1999 at a cost of over $85,000 and
leased to the Boyd School. That lease and the lease of the radio
tower land and the radio transmitter space currently results in
an income of over $50,000 per year to the Post.]
Many
months of planning and considerable financial difficulties
delayed construction and the rebuilding of the Post Home for two
years. The principal amount borrowed to rebuild the Post Home
was $130,000, loaned by the Arlington-Fairfax Savings and Loan
Association, repayable monthly in payments of $838. [That loan
was paid off in 1988). Finally, on April 26, 1967, the Post
received a Certificate of Occupancy from the City of Fairfax.
The price tag for this precious document was $2.50. After two
and one-half years and tens of thousands of dollars in
construction costs and thousands of hours in donated labor by
the Legionnaires, Post 177 Home was again functional.
In 1969, The American Legion Fairfax Post No.177, Incorporated, was
formed as a direct result of the disastrous fire and the lack of
adequate insurance protection. This Corporation owns and manages
all Post real property and the Corporation Asset Trust Fund,
from which money can be removed only by a vote of two-thirds of
the members present and voting. All members of Post 177 in good
standing are automatically also members of the Corporation. All
Post members elect the seven members of the Corporation Board
for rotating three-year terms. All Post members also elect the
Post Commander and Executive Board every spring. The Post
Commander and the Executive Board run all operations of Post
177, except the Corporation. Day-to-day operation of the Post
Club is run by the 3rd Vice Commander (a member of
the Executive Board) and the Club Manager, a paid employee of
the Post who serves at the will of the Executive Board. The Post
Constitution and By-Laws, the Post Charter, and the Corporation
Charter are posted at the Post Home. |
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