Chuck Steele honored as 70-year Legion member
Chuck Steele delivering the traditional speech on Memorial Day
by Marsha Chartrand
No matter how you look at it, 70 years is a pretty long time. But 70 years of commitment to one organization is a very special accomplishment.
In March of 1953, Charles “Chuck“ Steele got out of the U.S. Army and in April of 1953 he joined the American Legion Post 117 here in Manchester.
“I’ve been a member ever since,“ Steele says. “And I‘ve done just about every job there is to do at the post, from building the hall to giving speeches on Memorial Day.“
He was honored with a certificate at the March Legion meeting.
Chuck, who will be 93 in April, is particularly proud of his contributions to a couple of uniquely Manchester traditions that many of us take for granted.
First, he recalls that returning from service in 1953, he attended a football game at Alumni Field. But he felt like something was missing.
“The band came out and played ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,‘ but there was no U.S. Flag to be seen,“ Chuck says. “I went to the next Legion meeting and told them about it and asked why we didn’t take our Colors down there. They said if you can get enough people to do it, go ahead.“ Since then he has attended every Manchester home football game, except two last season, and assisted in presenting the colors. “I am going to try and make at least one game this year, so that will be 70 years of flag raising,“ he says.
That is a record that won’t soon be replicated.
Another tradition we all enjoy is the flags along Main Street for special occasions. This had its beginnings in 1967 for the Manchester Centennial, and at the time Chuck was bowling on the Legion bowling team. He brought up at a meeting the idea of having flags in front of the businesses and once again was put in charge of the project.
“I went to a Chamber of Commerce meeting and approached them about putting up flags, twelve times a year or as many times as they wanted, for $25 a year,“ he says. “They agreed to it. It was supposed to be in front of our merchants uptown; but our flags didn’t come. We looked into it and they told us that our order had burnt up in a truck wreck.
“The trucking company’s insurance paid for them and made another order; that came through in two weeks. But lo and behold, during the third week, here comes another order through! We called the truck company and they said it was all taken care of, so go ahead and use them. So we finished out Main Street to the west of town.
“We had a big parade here in Manchester. We lined up on City Road, east of Wolverine, and went out to Carr Park.“
And the parade route was lined with flags — as it is to this day, thanks to the American Legion.
Since Chuck joined the Legion post 70 years ago, it has had two different homes: first, on the upper level at 138 E Main (currently River Raisin Mercantile), and their second and current home on the corner of Adrian and Duncan Streets. But before buying the 138 E Main building after the end of World War II, the Legion had met for many years on the second floor of 117 E Main (currently Dance with Heart Studios). For those years, their address matched the post number!
Another memory Chuck has is of the Legion building the hall, now owned by Eineder Funeral Homes, which for more than 30 years was a popular local venue for events, weddings, parties, and twice-weekly bingo games.
“We bought the house and the property from Don Sutton in 1974,“ he says. “We started the hall in 1975, we filled that all in down there and built the building. Morgan Kern and I had to take out personal insurance policies so the Union Savings Bank was assured of getting their money; that was their collateral. But we paid that building off in 10 years. When we were doing bingo twice a week, we could often get in an extra payment and that helped. But it was a lot of work; a lot of commitment.“
You don’t see that kind of commitment these days. There aren’t a lot of new members joining the Legion. Chuck says he’s not sure why. “If I knew why, I’d be working on getting us a bigger membership. It seems like people would want to support it,“ he says, “but there isn’t the interest anymore. I guess a lot of organizations are facing the same problem.“
Spending 70 years of one’s life dedicated to an organization and its goals is a pretty lofty accomplishment. Chuck has served as Commander of the Legion Post five different times over the years, and has held every one of the offices. For the past 15 years, he has served as Chaplain, which brings him to the speeches on Memorial Day, something that is particularly meaningful to him. He also participates in most military funerals that are held in the community, whether or not the deceased was a member of the Legion, because he believes it’s an important duty.
“It’s not an easy thing,“ he confessed. “Some of my close friends were dying, and it got harder and harder.“ But at the same time, he believes it’s important to honor his fellow veterans. So, off he goes to say a prayer and present the colors to the family of a veteran, whom he may or may not know.
It’s part of his commitment.
If you are a veteran who would like to make a commitment to American Legion Post #117, contact the post home at (734) 428-8500. The American Legion was chartered and incorporated by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization devoted to mutual helpfulness. If you have served at least one day of active military duty since December 7, 1941, and were honorably discharged or you are still serving active military duty honorably, you are eligible for membership with The American Legion.
Chuck Steele, in uniform, 1951
Chuck Steele (right) and Ralph Wurster (left), home on furlough, 1951.
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