Cassville’s American Legion Post to sell land, building

October 9, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
Since 1936, Cassville’s American Legion Post 118 was a fixture in town. From the group’s annual tractor pull to the bingo nights and carnivals of years past, the Legion focused on giving the community a safe place to gather and host events that serve the whole family.
According to Darrell “O.B.” Hovland, finance officer for Post 118, regulations on bingo as well as a drop in membership has led the group to take drastic action in order to maintain their presence.
“The American Legion has dropped in membership and there are a lot of new state regulations on bingo operations for non-profits,” said Hovland. “We had to cut our bingo operation, therefore we don’t have the funds to upkeep all the American Legion property we currently have. So, it was voted on by our members to downsize so that we can still maintain a post in Cassville and not have the financial burden, because we can’t afford it.”
Hovland stated that legion’s bingo operations ceased in 2015, with their main source of income from that point on being the annual truck and tractor pull.
According to Hovland, the state taxes on bingo was an ongoing issue for Post 118, as well as many other bingo operations in the area.
“The state over-taxes on bingo operations, and they’re basically killing any non-profit operation that runs a bingo operation,” said Hovland. “That was one of our main ways of making money that we could give back to the community.”
At their July meeting, Post 118 unanimously voted to make arrangements to sell off a significant portion of their grounds in order to cover the cost of continuing operations.
“We officially voted to sell a portion of the American Legion grounds with the post keeping Memorial Park and some of the grounds behind the American Legion building,” said Hovland. “We do a lot of things in the community, and we can’t afford to maintain the property and still give back to the community in the way that we would like to.”
Hovland went on to explain the does not yet know what the plans are for the future of the tractor pull as this agreement involves them releasing ownership of the grounds where it is held.
The Cassville American Legion is responsible for several charitable operations in town. One of the most significant of these is their partnership with Missouri Boys State and Missouri Girls State. Students sent act as the ‘citizens’ instructed to assemble a set of guiding values and regulations to create legislation in their communities.
Boys and Girls States spend eight days teaching attendees the basics of running a government on a state, local and federal level.
According to Hovland, the Legion was able to send five boys and one girl this year.
Post 118 also organizes special events for area veterans through working closely with the Cassville Senior Center.
“On Veteran’s Day we pay for all the veterans to go have a meal at the senior center,” explained Hovland.
Hovland explained the sale of the building and the adjoining grounds will allow the Legion to continue these charitable actions indefinitely into the future.
“As for now, I’m not sure when the deal will close on the property, but we probably won’t have the option to rent it out anymore,” said Hovland. “The sale of the property will ensure that the American Legion Post in Cassville will be able to maintain for years to follow.”
Vinnie Roberts
Since 1936, Cassville’s American Legion Post 118 was a fixture in town. From the group’s annual tractor pull to the bingo nights and carnivals of years past, the Legion focused on giving the community a safe place to gather and host events that serve the whole family.
According to Darrell “O.B.” Hovland, finance officer for Post 118, regulations on bingo as well as a drop in membership has led the group to take drastic action in order to maintain their presence.
“The American Legion has dropped in membership and there are a lot of new state regulations on bingo operations for non-profits,” said Hovland. “We had to cut our bingo operation, therefore we don’t have the funds to upkeep all the American Legion property we currently have. So, it was voted on by our members to downsize so that we can still maintain a post in Cassville and not have the financial burden, because we can’t afford it.”
Hovland stated that legion’s bingo operations ceased in 2015, with their main source of income from that point on being the annual truck and tractor pull.
According to Hovland, the state taxes on bingo was an ongoing issue for Post 118, as well as many other bingo operations in the area.
“The state over-taxes on bingo operations, and they’re basically killing any non-profit operation that runs a bingo operation,” said Hovland. “That was one of our main ways of making money that we could give back to the community.”
At their July meeting, Post 118 unanimously voted to make arrangements to sell off a significant portion of their grounds in order to cover the cost of continuing operations.
“We officially voted to sell a portion of the American Legion grounds with the post keeping Memorial Park and some of the grounds behind the American Legion building,” said Hovland. “We do a lot of things in the community, and we can’t afford to maintain the property and still give back to the community in the way that we would like to.”
Hovland went on to explain the does not yet know what the plans are for the future of the tractor pull as this agreement involves them releasing ownership of the grounds where it is held.
The Cassville American Legion is responsible for several charitable operations in town. One of the most significant of these is their partnership with Missouri Boys State and Missouri Girls State. Students sent act as the ‘citizens’ instructed to assemble a set of guiding values and regulations to create legislation in their communities.
Boys and Girls States spend eight days teaching attendees the basics of running a government on a state, local and federal level.
According to Hovland, the Legion was able to send five boys and one girl this year.
Post 118 also organizes special events for area veterans through working closely with the Cassville Senior Center.
“On Veteran’s Day we pay for all the veterans to go have a meal at the senior center,” explained Hovland.
Hovland explained the sale of the building and the adjoining grounds will allow the Legion to continue these charitable actions indefinitely into the future.
“As for now, I’m not sure when the deal will close on the property, but we probably won’t have the option to rent it out anymore,” said Hovland. “The sale of the property will ensure that the American Legion Post in Cassville will be able to maintain for years to follow.”