Wayland American Legion Post Marks 100th Anniversary

WAYLAND, MA — Perhaps the oldest veterans society in Wayland celebrated 100 years at the end of April. The American Legion Post 133, founded for World War I vets, will mark its century in existence on Memorial Day with a monument dedication at Lakeview Cemetery.

Here's more from post historian James Metcalf:

American Legion Post 133 was founded on April 26, 1922. Fifteen men signed the application to establish the Post, and there were 77 charter members. The Post was named for Charles H. Alward, the first Wayland resident killed in World War I. The Post initially met in the former Knights of Labor Hall at Lyon’s Corner, the intersection of Main and West Plain Streets in Cochituate. The Knights of Labor Hall burned in January 1925. The Post acquired the property on Feb. 25, 1925, and built a meeting hall, which was dedicated in October 1926.

During the 1930s, the Post maintained an active schedule of public ceremonies and social events, many of which are described in documents held by the Wayland Historical Society. In the early years, the hall was frequently rented by the town and by local organizations. Treasurer’s records show that the town rented the hall annually from 1939 through 1971 at an annual cost of $600.

At a meeting in November 1965 there was a discussion of the future of the Post, including the possible sale of the meeting hall and establishment of a new meeting place. In a subsequent letter to the membership, Post Commander John Leavitt noted that the annual cost of maintenance of the existing hall was about $15,000 and that some members thought that a different meeting place would provide an incentive for growth. There is no surviving documentation of subsequent developments related to the sale of the hall until February 1972, when Post Commander George Bogren announced a meeting to finalize the sale of the property. A month later, the Post property was sold to Gerard Finnerty, who had operated a restaurant since 1962 in a small building adjacent to the Post property. The Legion Hall was demolished to make room for expansion of the restaurant.

A few years later Post 133 entered into a collaboration with Post 6260 of Veterans of Foreign Wars, which was founded in 1945 and maintained a meeting hall on Pine Ridge Road. Ward Keller, a Navy veteran, was the long-time financial officer of Post 133 and commander of VFW Post 6260 from 1984 to 2011. The VFW Post was disbanded in 2011 because of decreasing membership and increasing debt. Their property was sold in February 2012, and proceeds of the sale were split between the Legion Post and the VFW.

After the VFW Post was disbanded, the Legion Post was mostly dormant for about two years. In 2013 a few long-time members reactivated Post 133 as a service post. Carl Bernardo was elected commander, and Peter Toombs was elected adjutant (financial officer). An open house at Sandy Burr Country Club in December 2014 attracted several new members. Paul Rufo served as commander from January 2017 to January 2022, when Carl Bernardo returned to the position. The Post meets monthly in the Wayland Town Building. In recent years the Post has conducted or participated in ceremonies on Memorial Day, Purple Heart Day (Aug. 7), and Veterans Day. Richard Turner, as chairman of the Wayland Public Ceremonies Committee and Senior Vice Commander of Post 133, has had a key role in organizing these ceremonies. Other activities have included installation of flagpoles at town cemeteries, visits to elementary schools near Veterans Day (pre-pandemic), visits with veterans in local assisted living and nursing facilities (pre-pandemic), donations to Toys for Tots, donations to local food pantries during the pandemic, and sponsorship of Andrew Zhao at Boys State and Boys Nation in 2020. To mark its 100th anniversary, on Memorial Day the Post will dedicate a monument at Lakeview Cemetery to honor all veterans who have served in the armed forces of the United States. We invite all Wayland veterans to join us as we continue this work into our second century. You may contact us at chapost133@gmail.com.