History Page 4

History continued - Page 4

The current Commander of the local Post at the time of this history is Comrade H. T. Sullivan, appointed as General

Chairman of the convention, George B. White. He in turn with the advice and counsel of the Commander appointed a

General Convention Committee and a Citizens’ Advisory Committee of six members who were to help and aid the

Legion in every way to put on a convention worthy of Green Mountain Post and the City of St. Albans. After much

persuasion, the late Honorable E. C. Smith, former governor of the State of Vermont consented to act as Honorary

Chairman of the committee. The chairmen of the various committees were empowered to appoint and fill out their

own committees and worked with such enthusiasm and dispatch that the Fourteenth Annual Convention of The

American Legion, Department of Vermont, held in St. Albans, Vermont, has gone down in history as the best convention

ever held in the Department.

Some few years ago in conformity with the National Program, Green Mountain Post inaugurated “Boys’ State Activity”

which was designed primarily to educate High School youths into the affairs of civic life. In the State of Vermont this

has been very successfully carried on and Green Mountain Post takes pride in its part of the program under the able

and capable leadership of John D. Hogan a prominent member and Past Commander of Green Mountain Post who

has for the most part of the time been in charge of this activity and has carried it on to a great success insofar as

Green Mountain Post has been concerned.

During the years of Boys’ State Activity St. Albans has been honored by having two boys as State Governors and two

Attorney Generals. This taken together with the fact that St. Albans has always sent at least her quota to Boys’ State

proves the success of the undertaking insofar as Green Mountain Post is concerned. Along with its other Boys’

Activities Green Mountain Post has sponsored and carried on with much success a program know as “The Sons of the

American Legion”. This program has been for the most part under the able direction and leadership of Comrade George

Cioffi, and active member and Past Commander of the Post.

In the intervening course of years Green Mountain Post proceeded along upon its even tenure of ways without

especial activity occurring until the year of 1940, at which time several prominent members decided that the Post had

been for too many years without a permanent home and put forth their best efforts to do something to correct the

shifting change of scene in which the Post had always been of necessity compelled to hold its meetings.

Prominent among the leaders in this movement were Past Commanders H. T. Sullivan and R. H. Pollard who with the

advice and counsel of other prominent members of the Post brought to the attention of a meeting held in the old

rooms over the Library on Maiden Lane, the proposition of opening up rooms that would be exclusively for the purpose

of the meetings and other functions of Green Mountain Post. This discussion eventuated into a committee being

appointed by the then current Commander, Edward F. Smith, to take up the matter and see if it were advisable for the

Post to enter into such an activity. It was finally decided that it would be a worthwhile proposition and the present

rooms wherein the Post now holds its headquarters at 20 North Main Street could and should be made available for

these purposes. This was a venture, broad in scope, an undertaking which involved lots of headaches on the part of

those chiefly concerned. However, it was successfully launched and due in a large measure to the untiring and

unceasing and under-paid efforts of the committee in charge and the steward, George H. Horton a pioneer Post

Commander who has been in a large part responsible for the complete success of the Legion Club. Mr. Horton, by

the way, outside from being Steward of the club, has acted very efficiently as Adjutant and Finance Officer of the

Post during the past years, to say nothing of holding the offices of County and District commander of this District.

Appendix

Green Mountain Post has had the honor and distinction of furnishing to the National Organization a National Vice-

Commander in the person of John F. Sullivan and to the Department three Department Commanders, namely:

John F. Sullivan, J. B. Wood and S. J. Godfrey. It also furnished the First Department Vice Commander, George B.

White of St. Albans and for several years Department Adjutant, George B. White of St. Albans. Along with this the

Post has furnished many District and County Commanders and members of the State Executive Committee

We attempt herewith to set forth chronologically the various Post Commanders in the order of the election in service:

*S. S. Watson 1918-19 - *J. A. Evarts 1918-19 - C. S. Sumner 1919-20 - C. E. Pell 1920-21 - S. S. Cushing 1921-22 - D. L. McGarey 1922-23
L. J. Paquet 1923-24 - L. J. Paquet 1924-25 - *Harry Webber 1925-26 - C. E. Shannon 1926-27 - J. B. Wood 1927-28 - S. J. Godfrey 1928-29
*A.C. Brault 1929-30 - R. H. Pollard 1930-31 - H. T. Sullivan 1931-32 - George B. White 1932-33 - Edward J. Bowler 1933-34
Stephen Dunbar 1934-35 - George Cioffi 1935-36 - C. A. Kelley 1936-37 - J. D. Walsh 1937-38 - John Hogan 1938-39 - John Daley 1939-40
Edward F. Smith 1940-41 - Leon Gennett 1941-42 - Thomas Ward 1942-43 - Dominic Calo 1943-44

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