Streator American Legion building remains open, but faces challenges

Ten mostly senior men — many of them wearing veterans ball caps — sat at the bar of the Streator American Legion at 5 p.m. Thursday.

“Can the (Chicago) Bears beat the Packers, Sunday?” one of them barked out.

“They’d better hope for rain again if they’re going to,” another one answered, generating some laughter.

The Streator American Legion building at 218 W. Main St. remains open, but its future is in jeopardy.

Bar manager Jenny Anderson said the camaraderie among the veterans is why the American Legion’s bar is important.

“They are like family,” Anderson said. “A lot of the guys like the routine of coming here. If we were to lose the building, it would be more than just losing a business. There’s not a lot of other places they can go in town, this is the last veterans club in town.

“For us Vietnam veterans, it’s a place we can meet and talk,” said Commander Robert Bute. “It’s a nice place to be, it’s a quiet bar.”

Bute said the organization has listed for sale the two-floor building, which includes a bar and commercial kitchen in the bottom floor and a banquet hall upstairs, with an asking price of $189,000.

Bute is clear: The Streator American Legion is not disbanding, there will be a veterans service organization even after a sale, with plans to meet elsewhere or rent a smaller space, but operating an aging building has become costly.

Despite the challenges, the American Legion is doing what it can to make the building operation work. Anderson said bartenders are working on a volunteer basis, accepting only tips as payment.

The organization will be open noon to 9 p.m. daily and will serve food on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons during football. Food options will be posted to the American Legion’s Facebook page. The bar has video gambling machines and wants to put together a darts league team. Raffles, a card drawing and a queen of hearts drawing are also ongoing to generate revenue.

“We’re going to try to stay open as long as we can, but when the funds drop below a certain point, we’re going to have to pull the plug,” Bute said.

In 2018, the Streator VFW closed and sold its building on Hickory Street, but remained an active organization.

The American Legion has 188 members — but roughly 50 to 60 would be considered active members, Bute said. Most of the membership is elderly.

In order to be a member of the American Legion, a person must have served a day in the military since Dec. 7, 1941, and be honorably discharged, or be on active duty.

The American Legion is a service organization for veterans, and its primary role right now in the community is providing military rites at veteran funerals, Bute said.

Anderson said the organization intends to start an auxiliary, focusing on generating new membership. The auxiliary allows family members of the American Legion to join. Call 815-672-6701 or visit the building during business hours to inquire about membership.

“We need more membership, and younger people to join,” Bute said, when asked what it would take to keep building operations going.

“If you want to see the American Legion building stay open, the best thing you can do is come on out and support us.”