Legion Post 89 Recognized by City of Wheeling for Turnaround
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WHEELING -- The date of April 20 may mean different things to a lot of different people, but in the city of Wheeling this year, April 20 was celebrated as "American Legion Post 89 Day."
Members of Wheeling City Council made that proclamation last week, marking the four-year anniversary since the Legion post on the corner of 15th and Jacob streets entered into what amounted to a consent decree with the city of Wheeling -- to basically turn things around or get shut down.
Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott noted that during his first term in office, one of the issues the city faced was a myriad of complaints that had surrounded the Legion post by the beginning of 2017.
"We'd gotten a lot of complaints about a nuisance or criminal behavior sort of emanating from the American Legion Post 89 in East Wheeling," Elliott said. "It seemed like every couple of weeks, we'd get emails or complaints from neighbors."
In the past, there had been shootings and even a murder that had occurred outside of the club. The criminal activity had been linked to patrons that had been in the club, officials noted, and Police Chief Shawn Schwertfeger and City Manager Robert Herron got involved.
"The chief took it very seriously, the city manager took it very seriously, and by February of 2017, both the chief and city manager requested a nuisance declaration," Elliott said.
Instead of seeking immediate closure of the facility, city officials approached members of Post 89, sat down and talked about a way to keep the post in existence.
"We sort of had to get together and figure out a path forward without closing it down," Elliott said. "I cannot say enough about the steps that they have taken. It's been about four years since council actually agreed to the sort of the consent decree -- where they agreed to take several steps to stay open, to really change the way they operate and to resume the historic and important role they have in the East Wheeling community."
On April 18, 2017, members of Wheeling City Council voted 7-0 to approve the consent decree.
Under the leadership of Commander Demetrius Lathon, Post 89 brought back seasoned veterans who initiated policies to clean up the club and its membership. Those changes included new management, new security, shorter operating hours, stricter rules regarding membership and a return to the social club it was meant to be when it was first established in 1942.
The Legion also saw physical improvements since then, with new flooring, furnishings and features like flatscreen televisions.
Moreover, the leadership at Post 89 stayed in touch with the community and took action to make sure no activity was taking place to tarnish the reputation of the club.
Today, American Legion Post 89 is known for its annual Memorial Day and Veterans Day luncheons, its annual back-to-school activities -- as well as Halloween parties and Christmas events -- for area children, its outstanding barbecue chicken and its positive contributions to the community as a whole, not for any kinds of problems that had plagued that corner in the past.
"I cannot be more proud of that vote and the steps they've taken since," Elliott said, proclaiming April 20 as "American Legion Post 89 Day" and congratulating Lathon and the post membership for being a successful community partner.
"We'd like to thank the city council for this prestigious achievement and honor that you guys have given us," Lathon said. "It is very much appreciated. We just want to say thank you to everybody for their support."
Accompanied by 2nd Vice Commander Thomas Jones during the presentation of the proclamation during last week's city council meeting, Lathon gave a special thanks to Ward 3 Councilwoman Rosemary Ketchum for pushing to get the Legion Post 89 this recognition.
Post 89 is the only historically Black chapter of the American Legion that is still in existence in the state of West Virginia. In 2019, the post received recognition as being ranked No. 1 American Legion Post in membership in the state.