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Date: 8/18/2022
SOUTHWICK – Two local Veterans of Foreign Wars posts that opened shortly after the end of World War II recently consolidated following a unanimous vote by members in Southwick and Russell.
Members of Southwick Post 872 and Russell Post 6645 took two separate votes to approve the merger, followed by a joint meeting of the two posts in late July. At that joint meeting, members determined the post number, meeting location, new post name, and hosted a special election to determine a slate of officers for the newly configured organization.
The name of Ransford W. Kellogg-General Knox VFW Post 872 combines the namesakes of the two posts that merged. The Southwick post was named for a veteran from the town who was killed in World War II while serving in the Army Air Corps. The Russell post’s name honored Henry Knox, a senior general during the Revolutionary War who famously transported cannons from upstate New York to the siege of Boston, passing through Russell and other Hilltowns, as well as Westfield.
According to Troy W. Henke, state judge advocate for the VFW of Massachusetts and a member of the Southwick post, the merged post will use the number 872 since it’s customary to retain the older post number.
“Post 872 has an older number, which we believe is because it had merged at one time with the former Granville VFW,” he explained.
The new Post Commander is Ryan Dietert of Southwick, who has served in that capacity for Post 872 since 2016. Other officers elected at the July meeting include Sterling Elmer of Westfield, senior vice commander; Darcie Rock of Southwick, junior vice commander; Jason Bostock of Granby, CT, quartermaster; James Cortis of Russell, Mark Goodniss of Westfield, and George Fedora of Agawam, trustees. Except for Cortis and Goodniss, who were members of the Russell post, all were members of the Southwick post before the merger. Henke said the merger will become official when the national VFW issues a new charter, which is expected in September.
Neither post maintains any property. Both organizations stopped using their meeting halls in 2019, and Henke said both buildings have now been sold – Southwick’s in May 2020 and Russell’s this past January.
The new post will meet at American Legion Post 338 in Southwick. The joint meeting in July specified this location, and the new charter issued by the national VFW will reflect this location, as well.
Henke said the post commander always reserves the privilege to host post meetings at different locations if there is a need. Otherwise, the regular meeting location will be in Southwick.
“There is currently no plan or desire to purchase a new property as the VFW post’s home,” he said.
The new charter will be postdated to 1951 – reflecting the year Post 872 was originally chartered – and also will include the new post name, Henke said. He added that planning to consolidate the two posts began in January when members of the Russell post, which opened in 1946, approached the Southwick post about merging.
Prior to the merger, both posts had a roster of 86 members – although the Southwick post had more than 100 members about 20 years ago – which will now give the new Post 872 a membership of 172 veterans.
According to Henke, the merger was not solely based on declining enrollment of the former Russell post, but was more a reflection of aging enrollment and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the towns that fell under the post’s purview –Russell, Blandford, Montgomery, Huntington and Chester – also have low population densities, so there were fewer qualifying veterans to recruit.
The Russell post had already made the decision to sell its building and relocate its meetings to Russell Town Hall when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
“COVID[-19] really became the death knell for the Russell post,” Henke added. “For two years, they were unable to hold any needed recruitment or community outreach events during the time when they were trying to reconstitute themselves.”
Another factor in the merger was that several members of the Russell post were Westfield residents who had belonged to the former Westfield VFW Post 1847 before it closed in 2017, but the Russell post had no official standing among Westfield’s veterans organizations.
“Southwick Post 872 then became the catchment VFW post for the city – which is the reason why it has a seat on the Westfield Veterans Council,” Henke said.
Southwick and Russell are not the first two posts in the Pioneer Valley to consolidate in recent years. Henke said that in 2018, Holyoke Post 801 and Chicopee Post 625 voted to merge.
Henke explained that the process of merging VFW posts is “very specifically and deliberately” spelled out in its bylaws. He said consolidating is “a far better” option than having a post become defunct and turn in its charter.
Histories of both posts will be maintained accordingly, since historic preservation is part of the mission in the VFW, said Henke. Post 872’s relevant items, such as its charter, legacy charter, and photo of Ransford W. Kellogg, had been moved to the American Legion building some time ago. Russell’s items, including its charter, will be relocated to Southwick and displayed for posterity.