The Salem American Legion will be selling its building at 1001 East Main Street.
Legion Treasurer Lonnie McDaneld says they cannot afford to keep the building.
“It was really a hard decision for us,” McDaneld said. “We’ve tried several different ways to make things financially sound for the legion. Our expenses are a lot more than our income. Our customers have dwindled down next to nothing, and we’ve made this decision as a financial one. One thing I do want to stress is that the Salem American Legion is still in the area and still active. We will just be meeting at a different location.”
McDaneld says that location has not yet been determined but will be announced in the future.
Legion Commander Ray Reagan says he’s also disappointed, but hopes the sale will clear their debt and allow the post to continue to operate moving forward.
“We sure could use help from our membership to get the building cleaned out, stuff moved into storage and to the new location where we’re going to meet.”
Reagan says the legion’s operations are complicated because while they have about 200 members only a handful are active.
The legion purchased the former Union Pacific Railroad Depot six years ago with hopes of it becoming a successful restaurant and bar open to the community as well as a meeting place for the legion, the Ladies Auxiliary and the Sons of the American Legion.
