by Jim Houck, Jr.
VFW Auxiliary 6658 Celebrates 70th Year
VFW Memorial Post 6658 was chartered in 1946. Harold Hoke was one of the organizers and a charter member. The following year (1947), Harold’s wife, Mary Higbee Hoke, said she would like to start an Auxiliary to Post 6658. Mrs. Hoke went to South Seton Avenue, the home of Gertrude Joy—who, at the time, had a son, Robert, in the Army, and another son, John, in the Navy—to ask Mrs. Joy to help recruit members for a charter for an Auxiliary to VFW Memorial Post 6658. Mrs. Joy said she and her daughters, Gloria and Delores, would be glad to help.
They needed fifteen members to receive a charter. Mrs. Hoke, Mrs. Joy, Gloria, and Delores were able to recruit twenty-three signatures for the charter in a month’s time. An application for the Auxiliary Charter was approved on June 2, 1947, by then Post Commander Charles J. Rowe. The Auxiliary Charter application was sent to the VFW National Secretary, along with the fee of $25.00. The Auxiliary Charter was received at Memorial Post 6658 in October 1947, with twenty-three members’ names in good standing.
As of September 2017, seventy years later, only three of the original Charter Members are survivors. The survivors names are: Etta Mae Norris, Genevieve Zacharias, and Gloria (Joy) Bauerline.
Recently, at a regular monthly meeting, Gloria received a plaque and a seventy-year pin for continuous service and thirty-five continuous years as Auxiliary Chaplain. Inscribed on the plaque: “Gloria, you have set an example for others with your extraordinary and exceptional leadership in the Post 6658 Auxiliary. Your dedication and perseverance the past 70 years with our veterans, Post members and community are beyond words. Your endless hours as Chaplain for 35 years have touched people in many ways that will last a lifetime. From our hearts we thank you.”
The original Charter Members of VFW Auxiliary 6658 are as follows: Carrie Long, Mary R. Bell, Rose M. Beall, Marion Boyle, Genevieve Kugler, Clara R. Combs, Madeline Rightnour, Pauline Rosensteel, Anna Mae Topper, Mary C. Sanders, Gloria (Joy) Martin, Gertrude Joy, Delores Joy, Grace A. Ryder, Louise B. Brammer, Mary N. Rowe, Anna B. Stoner, Mary H. Hoke, Eunice N. Bouey, Joanna S. Eyler, Etta Mae Norris, Jane Gingell, and Jean B. Bower.
Please, when you see Gloria the next time, give her a hug and thank her for all the time she has put into this Veteran’s organization. Gloria is a fine example of what this great organization is all about. Thank you, Gloria!
God Bless the United States, God Bless the U.S. Veteran, and God Bless You.
Gloria (Joy) Bauerline receives a plaque and pin for her continuous service and years as Auxiliary chaplain of Auxiliary Post 6658.
