State VFW pulls Charleroi post’s charter
The Charleroi Veterans of Foreign Wars building
Some of the photos of past commanders on display at the Charleroi Veterans of Foreign Wars post.
CHARLEROI – The state Veterans of Foreign Wars pulled the charter of a post in Charleroi where no one wanted to be commander.
The state organization will attempt to sell the building at 609 McKean Ave. that housed Arden Calvert VFW Post 167 after its contents are either sold or donated to Charleroi Area Historical Society, Pennsylvania VFW Adjutant John Getz said.
“They walked out,” Getz said Friday. “Nobody wanted to take over.”
The club began its downward spiral in 2004 when a 50-year-old disabled veteran died there of a heart attack while he lived in a cramped cloakroom. The borough later evicted a veteran who was sleeping in one of the club restrooms and another man who was being sheltered in a furnace room. Also that year, the club stopped hosting punk rock concerts that were paying its bills because they were spilling into the street and drawing police.
Richard McBurnie, an officer with Charleroi American Legion Post 22, said he stepped forward to sell the VFW’s contents and will donate any money he collects to a disabled or homeless veterans organization.
“I’m just trying to do things right,” McBurnie said.
He also is attempting to find relatives of as many as 50 former VFW commanders whose framed photographs hang in the club hall.
“We tried to keep it operating, but we weren’t getting the help we needed,” he said.
The remaining members of the VFW are being asked to join another post, Getz said.
He said Charleroi is among 11 posts that closed in Pennsylvania during the past year, mostly because they only accepted World War II veterans as members.
“They didn’t want anyone else in there,” Getz said. “They definitely kicked out the Vietnam and Korean vets.”
He said the state VFW stepped in because the Charleroi club wasn’t being used.
“They were letting the building sit without getting back to us,” Getz said.
He said the state has no objections to the building’s contents being sold. He also said he was happy to hear that some things there will be donated to the historical society.
Anyone interested in claiming one of the commanders photographs can call McBurnie at 724-489-4686.