American Legion Post 24 members’ fundraiser dinner this Friday

Jena Doak, [email protected]

Rock Springs, Wyoming — A columbarium is an important addition to a community. As an alternative to bringing a loved one’s cremated remains home, their cremation urn can be placed in a columbarium, which is a room or building with niches for funeral urns to be stored.

American Legion Post 24 is hosting a lovely dinner for members and their families this Friday, January 21, at 6:00 p.m. to help fund the columbarium project. The event, “Dinner with the Commander,” is an invitation to join Commander Young and Post 24 for a steak and shrimp dinner, along with baked potato, vegetables, salad and cheese cake.

“Our veterans are passing away and many are having cremations and haven’t got a place in the cemetery, so what we have done is made it available to every veteran and their spouse,” said Leonard Merrill, adjutant of Post 24. “If a veteran asks for a spot, they will have a spot.”

The dinner on Friday will raise funds to pay down what is still owed on the new columbarium, which is located at the Rock Springs Municipal Cemetery. It has 96 niches, and each of them can house two urns: a veteran’s, and that of their spouse.

The next phase of the columbarium project will be the pouring of concrete around the columbarium, so that loved ones have stable grounds on which to place flowers and memorabilia. The space will also allow for performance of honor guard.

Phase three will be a second columbarium.

“So, this is an ongoing fundraiser,” said Merrill.

Friday’s steak and shrimp dinner, which will be the first American Legion family dinner of the New Year, will be different than in the past. Dinners have usually taken place on Thursday nights, consisting of sloppy joe’s, hotdogs, taco bar, or nachos.

“This will be an upscale dinner and a better, more intriguing, menu,” said Merrill.

The event Friday at 6:00 p.m. will take place at the American Legion Post 24, located at 551 Broadway in Rock Springs. This dinner is for members of the Post, members of the American Legion Auxiliary, members of the Sons of the American Legion, and their guests.

“For God and country, the American Legion exists to provide service to our veterans, their families, youth and the community,” said Merrill. “Those are the four pillars we stand on around here.”

The $15 meal will help fund the columbarium project.

For more information, please contact the American Legion Post 24 at 307-382-3315, or visit their Facebook page.