Seventy-five years ago this Saturday the VFW Fred Priestly Post 1174 signed its charter in El Dorado.
That original charter from 1934 listed 75 members and is hanging in the post on North Main.
In recognition of this milestone, Thomas J. Tradewell, Sr., national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, announced the presentation of a Diamond Jubilee Award citation to VFW Post 1174.
“This is a very significant milestone for a VFW Post,” Tradewell said in announcing the award.
“This Diamond Jubilee Award recognizes dedication, determination, hard work and a lot of patriotism. And it recognizes 75 years of serving the needs of local veterans and their families; and 75 years of service to the local community, and 75 years of contributing to the strength, power and influence of our national organization. In presenting this award, I send my sincere thanks and appreciation to the members of VFW Post 1174.”
The VFW Post has continued to grow and flourish in El Dorado.
“In those 75 years, there have been 65 post commanders,” said Post Chaplain Lewie Cooper, who has belonged to the post about 30 years and is a past post, 5th District and State commander.
The first commander of the post was then-Butler County Attorney WC Woodard.
Of the 75 original charter members, nine went on to be post commanders and of those post commanders, six went on to be Fifth District Commanders. Then from those, three went on to be state commanders.
At their 50-year anniversary, they still had one charter member alive and in attendance, Charlie Ritchie.
The post is named after George Frederick Priestly.
“Fred was a veteran of World War I,” Cooper said. “He served in the U.S. Navy.”
Priestly entered the service May 4, 1918 and was discharged on Sept. 19, 1922. He served on the
USS Princess Matoika. He came to El Dorado from Oklahoma to work as a driller in the oil fields until he passed away from a brain tumor at the age of 38.
The post began meeting in the G.A.R. Hall. The current building was actually purchased July 25, 1945, formerly known as the Ramsey Building. The post began in the upstairs of the building, and they rented out the bottom floor.
There also are two auxiliaries at the post, the Women’s Auxiliary, which was chartered Jan. 15, 1935 and the Men’s Auxiliary, which was chartered Oct. 21, 2005.
Some of their main activities throughout the year include an annual Thanksgiving dinner and a Christmas party for the children. They also provide help to veterans who need it and offer a Voice of Democracy script writing competition for juniors and seniors.
