Groton American Legion kitchen has new look

With one of its busiest and most active months of the year upon it, the Groton American Legion Carrington-Fuller Post 800 (the Legion) is sporting a long-awaited and much-needed renovation to its kitchen facility at 307 Main St.

Post Commander Frank Heine, 1st Vice Commander Fred Youngs Jr., 2nd Vice Commander Paul Koekebacker and Auxiliary President Connie Wilcox are individually and collectively thrilled with the result.

“I started cooking in this kitchen about five years ago,” Youngs said. “And it was in rough shape then. The faucets were leaking and rotted, the cabinets under the sinks were beyond repair, and I could bounce the whole thing up and down just by pushing on it with my hands. This kitchen was put in decades ago — probably in the ’50s.”

While there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Legion kitchen needed an upgrade, how to finance such a project was the looming question.

“About three years ago, we learned from Legion members Ruth and Chuck Morgan, whose daughter-in-law worked at Home Depot in Ithaca, that they had a program to award $5,000 grants to nonprofit organizations,” Youngs said. “So, Frank, Paul, Connie and I went and talked to people down there about a plan and applied for the grant.”

Unfortunately, the Legion’s application was denied that year, and when they attempted to apply the following year, they found that that program had ended and the new program Home Depot had implemented was geared toward helping individuals in need — not organizations.

Nonetheless, the management at Home Depot was willing to work with the Legion officers, so the foursome made their way to Ithaca once again to meet with the kitchen design team to come up with a plan.

Although they were disappointed that two years had gone by since their initial attempt to secure a grant to fund the kitchen renovation, Koekebacker said that “year three turned out to be much better because Home Depot gave us a substantial discount because of being veterans.”

Youngs said they were committed to doing the job well and right. They did not want particle board for their cabinets — they wanted real wood and pull-out shelving, which they ended up with, along with quartz countertops, stainless steel sinks and quality faucets.

“During that time frame, Post 800 had started a building fund,” Koekebacker said. “And we had funded a number of projects such as a new metal roof, two new bathrooms, concrete and a sink and hot water tank in the pavilion and office spaces upstairs, but nothing as big a project as the kitchen would be.”

Heine, Koekebacker, Wilcox and Youngs all spoke about the various projects and gave kudos to both the Ithaca and Cortland Lowe’s stores for donating supplies for some of them throughout the year. But they also underscored the necessity of the Legion’s annual raffle to subsidize the building fund.

The Legion runs the annual raffle beginning March 1 and sells tickets until the drawing at Groton Olde Home Days during the last weekend of August. They sell just 200 tickets at $100 each. Half of the proceeds goes into the building fund, and the other half is parceled out for cash prizes, with first prize being $5,000.

“Once we start the ticket sales in March, anyone can stop in at the Legion or see any of our members or auxiliary members to get an application for a ticket,” Heine said. “We have all the applications mailed in with payment, and then we send the tickets back by mail to keep things above board.”

Heine also said that they have added funding to some building projects from profits made from chicken barbecues or other special dinners at times when there is not enough funding from the annual raffle to complete them.

“The kitchen was totally funded by the raffle this year,” Heine said with pride. “We wanted to do it right with both the quality and first-class installation.”

The officers all expressed their praise for Home Depot for connecting them with a contractor whose professional assistance in completing the installation and expediting the process was invaluable and for whom they were extremely grateful.

“We didn’t start the demolition until we knew we had all the supplies in,” Koekebacker said. “But once we did, we started on a Monday and had the demo done in a day.”

Koekebacker, Youngs, Jeff Evener Sr., Joe Genticore Sr. and Keith Randolph made up the demolition team. Once they completed that, the kitchen was ready for a representative from Stone Central in Cortland to come and take laser measurements for the quartz countertop.

“It would normally take at least a week to get the specs back on those measurements”, Youngs said. “And he got it done by the next day. After that, it should have taken four to six weeks to get the countertop — and they got the whole thing done in less than two.”

Heine added that “Once that was all completed, we had Jim Proper from Burris Plumbing and Heating come in to do the plumbing.”

“And he did a fantastic job!” Heine said.

Youngs echoed Heine’s praise for Proper and his crew, as did Koekebacker, who also reiterated gratitude for Home Depot and its staff and the crew from Stone Central.

“Everything we do is a team effort,” Wilcox said. “But Fred and Paul really took the lead and got it done! If it wasn’t for all our volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to do half of what we do.”

Wilcox added that the Legion Auxiliary will be replacing the kitchen flooring before the end of this year, and Youngs spoke about “what a fabulous job Connie and her crew do with all our dinners here.”

All are thrilled with the outcome of the project and excited to return to holding their Thursday Grill Nights, beginning at 5 p.m. Nov. 3, their meals for veterans on Nov. 11 — described below in the “ In brief” section — and their famous chicken barbecue beginning at 10 a.m. Nov. 5. For the barbecue, dinners are $11 each, and halves are $9 each. Call ahead to reserve at (607) 898-3837.

“I really have to congratulate Paul, Fred and Keith Randolph for this outstanding job that was two years in the making,” Heine said. “The quality, legwork, negotiations and coordination of efforts was the biggest project ever undertaken during my tenure as commander since 2014.”

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@VizellaMedia.com or text or call Linda at (607) 227-4922.

In brief:

Turkey dinner in McLean

The McLean Firefighters will host their 75th annual turkey dinner will all the trimmings and homemade pies Nov. 6 from 11:30 a.m. until gone at the McLean Fire Hall.

This will be a sit-down dinner and all you can eat. Cost is $15 per adult, $14 per senior citizen and $8 for children ages 6 through 12. Children 5 and under may eat free of charge. A 50/50 fundraiser raffle will also take place on site.

Free meals for veterans

The Groton American Legion Post 800 Auxiliary, 307 Main St., will host a roast pork take-out dinner Nov. 11 in honor of Veteran’s Day. The meal is free of charge for all veterans and one guest and will include roast pork, mashed potatoes, squash, creamed onions, roll and dessert.

Dinners must be reserved by Nov. 9 by calling the Legion at (607) 898-3837 during hours of operation, which are 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday.

Veterans Day ceremony

As is its annual tradition, the Groton American Legion Post 800 will hold a Veteran’s Day ceremony, to which all are welcome.

The 21-gun salute and ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. on the 11th day of the 11th month of the year, which marks and honors the celebration of armistice after World War II. Cub Scouts Pack #10, which is sponsored by the Legion, will be on hand to raise the flags from half mast to full mast at the conclusion of the ceremony, and light refreshments will be served thereafter by the Groton American Legion Auxiliary.

Please be aware that Main Street will be closed from Lincoln Street to South Main Street during the ceremony, so do plan your travel accordingly.