Post History
(from the original historical booklet written in 1945 for the "Dedication of Home")
MILLER STOCKUM POSTNo. 485, Inc.
American Legion
Sunday, August 26, 1945
29 State Road
Cleves, Ohio
On the 18th day of January in the year 1921, seventeen ex-servicemen, representing all branches of our fighting forces of World War 1, met in the Cleves Town Hall for the purpose of forming a Post of the American Legion.
At the initial meeting the name Miller Stockum Post was chosen in honor of two local boys, Irvan (Petey) Miller and Edward (Peanuts) Stockum who gave their lives in action for their Country. At the same meeting, Gordon Henderson was chosen Commander; Arthur McIntire, Secretary, and Frank Franz Jr., Treasurer.
Following this meeting we have twenty four years of organization work behind us, growing steadily and surely, a decided credit to our community. Our post has always made its yearly quota of members and is considered by State and National leaders as an ideal rural American Legion Post. Throughout these twenty four years our Post has taken a decided interest in civic affairs. Each Christmas brings forth our Christmas tree brightly lighted in front of the Town Hall with Christmas baskets distributed to the needy.
Each year we sponsor contests on Americanism at Taylor High School and present gold, silver and bronze medals to the several winners. The traffic lights you see shining out the warning to Stop, Caution and Go, were purchased by your local Legion Post. Then again the original brass band instruments at Taylor High were a gift of our Post. In duly and truly military form we have presented American Flags to every church and school in our territory, and conducted military funerals to departed veterans of this vicinity as well as for other Posts. We are rated as having one of the fully uniformed and armed firing squads in the Greater Cincinnati Area.
This splendid organization maintains a burial plot at Maple Grove Cemetery, assumes responsibility for the success of our Memorial Day Parade and Services. On this day conducting services at Harrison's Tomb is our duty with placing American Flags on all graves of departed ex-servicemen in our territory. Our work and efforts are for the Men of Arms when they are in need, when departed or for his widow or their orphans. The Miller Stockum Post has given time, effort, money, their everything for flood relief, to sponsoring a Boy Scout Troop, to hundreds of hours of hard labor for Civilian Defense, when our Country was in peril a few years back. At the call of the President of the United States, our Post trained, partly equipped and led to a winner over all high school in Ohio, taking part in the American Legion Parade for the best military trained high school unit in the state. This Taylor High School Military Corps stood a full military inspection by Army officers and was given a 100 percent rating. These boys went into the Army, Navy and the Marines pre-trained by your local Legionnaires.
On this January 27, 1946, our post will celebrate its twenty fifth anniversary, with the original charter still in use and seven of the original members still members. From the start of seventeen, our membership has grown today and we are proud to claim a membership of 153 active members.
When this awful picture of World War II has passed into history and our heroes of of this present conflict have returned, this Miller Stockum Post will have a membership of several hundred ex-service men and women, to continue doing good work.
On this Sunday, August 26th, we are offering to the citizens of this community our new home. In military life there is no other influence that holds a soldier in the battle line so well as pride. He fears the jeers and the contempt of his companions more than he fears the bullets of the enemy. It is pride in his good name and his reputation that holds him to the mark. Your local Legionnaires take pride in their organization and offer to you this new home. We take pride in this structure and are going to make it a real asset to the local community and to make it a real meeting place for our returning boys.
This magnificent building that the Miller Stockum Post is today opening to the public is to be the future home for your boys in the service. It is an old landmark in this Village and has been left in as near a state of preservation as possible, from a practical and economic standpoint. The original plot of ground was known as the William Green Subdivision, which was a part of the William Henry Harrison Estate. The site was purchased by Jacob Young, father of William Young who supervised the erection of the building.
Work on the building was started in the year 1868 and completed in the year 1872. As was the custom in years gone by, buildings were built slowly, by hand and really built to stand the ravages of time. This structure is certainly an example of those customs.
All of the bricks were hand made and sun dried, the material for same coming from the north end of the village. All woodwork is of the finest of white pine, good as gold today. The partitions throughout are eight inches in thickness, starting from an eighteen inch thick cellar wall and extending through the third floor. The original floor plan has been altered because of our needs, each floor formerly consisting of five rooms, plus two large lateral halls. Each of these large rooms was equipped with a fireplace and mantel as was the conventional method of heating in those days. The entire building being heated in such a manner necessitated the building of four large chimneys.
During a period of remodeling a tobacco pouch in a perfect state of preservation was found under a stairway bearing the label of Star Smoking tobacco and dated 1872. From the year 1872 the building has a succession of owners, starting from the original owner, Jacob Young, followed by his son, William Young, then Mrs. George Welsh to Frank Welsh, who sold the property to Russell Rudisell. From this owner it was purchased for the present home by the local Legion post.
The present finished home consists of 1 large assembly hall, 1 small hall, 2 lateral halls, 1 recreation and trophy room, a complete kitchen and toilet facilities. There are also 5 rooms and 2 lateral halls in the basement with plans of a recreation nature in the making for their use. Heating throughout the building is of low pressure steam and completely automatic controlled. Our building sets to the rear of the Presbyterian Church which is 108 years old and the former place of worship of William Henry Harrison.
This gives the Legion Post a large front lawn which is to be graced by a field piece of the present war and memorabilia to all the veterans of both wars. At the side of the building will be a parking lot for numerous cars.