In this A Veterans Voice, Mike Hart talked to one of the last members at the Wasco location who remembers the posts' glory days not that long ago.
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00:00 The only VFW post in northern Kern County recently announced it was closing
00:05 its doors, forcing veterans in that community to drive to Bakersfield for
00:09 camaraderie and services. In this morning's a veteran's voice, I talked to
00:12 one of the last members at the Wasco location who remembers the post's glory
00:17 days not that long ago. We had, we used to have a computer and printer and stuff
00:22 like that in there. Stolen our stoves, they've stolen refrigerators, our grill,
00:27 the big grill we used for cooking on and stuff like that. TV here, had a videotape
00:32 player. We would get broken into sometimes two and three times a month.
00:36 Vietnam veteran Stephen Davis joined the VFW post 6742 when he returned to Wasco
00:42 more than 30 years ago. Yeah in the 90s I came in and this place was booming. We
00:48 had a lot of people, a lot of things going on, steak dinners we do in the
00:52 evenings. We would cook pancakes for the people who are doing their Relay for
00:56 Life running and things like that out at the cemetery. Every Memorial Day we
01:01 had uh ceremonies out there. We had flags out there doing things, fireworks
01:06 the fourth of july we'd sell tacos and yeah we were busy. Davis says the post
01:11 sponsored various sports teams, the rose pageant held fundraisers and placed
01:15 flags all over town at different times of the year. Now the building that
01:19 housed nearly 200 members 20 years ago had less than 50 registered today with
01:25 even fewer participating on a regular basis. This guy's passed away, he's
01:29 passed away. We had six or seven of us that were ones doing everything and
01:33 always always the same ones, you know, so it just became hard and all of us
01:39 are getting older. You know, just last year the city honored the post for 75
01:43 years of service and now it's over. My uncle was a member of most of the guys
01:48 in here, their fathers, their uncles or grandfathers were all VFW, they're all
01:52 members of this post and they're not here anymore, you know, and I think we
01:57 try to feel like we kind of let them down because we're not, we couldn't
02:01 hold it open, you know, and all that's left at the post are scattered
02:04 reminders of their service to the community.
02:07 Now, currently there are three active posts in the Bakersfield area post 97.
02:13 If you remember sold their building but is holding meetings at the CSUB
02:16 student union once a month. The next one is september 13th at six p.m. Now
02:21 there's also locations on Ridge Road and Norris Road in Bakersfield. Other
02:25 posts within district six. There are two in to Hatch a P along with Lake
02:30 Isabella, Fraser Mountain and Maricopa.