Bozeman’s American Legion Post 14 has been in Bozeman nearly a century. Two years ago on March 5th, the Legions building was destroyed in the natural gas explosion on Main Street, but that was not the end of the organization. Meetings carried on at the Eagles across the street while a new building was constructed on the same site, and now the Legion is back and open to the public.

The Legion’s opening was actually the first week of October last year, and the official grand opening ceremony was on November 11th, Veterans Day. Tom Jones, the manager of the Legion says that even though they have been open coming up on six months, many people still don’t know that. He still gets questions and calls asking when the new Legion hall will be open and even where it is. And understandably the new building is a little hard to notice. It is right next to the continuing construction and the wooden covered sidewalk where the new Rocking R and Santa Fe Reds is being constructed. And the new building fits well with the other buildings on the block, perhaps hiding there in plain sight.

The Legion’s current membership is around 350, and the goal is to get to 400 members by the end of the year. Anybody who is a military veteran can join. Tom says that business is about 3/4ths of what it was before the explosion, but seems to be growing monthly as people realize that the doors are back open now. The emphasis on recruitment of new members is on the younger generation of veterans. Just this past month, the last WW-I veteran passed away, and the WW-II and Korean War veteran groups are diminishing in size.

Tom was in the old Legion building at the time of the explosion. The blast breached the wall, and the shock wave knocked him down and across the basement. He suffered some back injuries that he has since recovered from, but he has permanently lost much of his hearing. He managed to get up and out the front door before the roof collapsed and subsequent fire destroyed the structure.

A large group of people headed by Scott and Ken Walker of Walker Construction began to work on the rebuilding of the structure, and their hard work and effort got the front doors open perhaps a year ahead of the other businesses still being constructed. Their original plan had an even more ambitious timeline, but was delayed by a lawsuit and other factors. Many generous donations from groups and individuals and help from the City of Bozeman helped to finance the project. The Legion hopes to pay off the remaining borrowed funds over the next few years, and donations are still needed and most appreciated.

The result of the efforts of all involved is a beautiful building reminiscent of the old structure, but with improvements. The main club is at street level now, so there are no stairs going either up or down when you come in the door. Large windows look out onto Main street. The wiring, plumbing, and lighting are all state of the art. There are several large-screen TV’s for viewing sports and news, a couple brand new pool tables, and a beautiful 40 foot curved bar. There is a small stage, and occasionally live music on Friday & Saturday nights. The restrooms are large, new, and very clean.

Upstairs, there is a large banquet room which can accommodate a group of up to 120 persons. There is a brand new full-service adjoining kitchen, or events can be catered, and the cost to rent the space for an event starts at a very reasonable $200. It is a great place for a wedding reception, anniversary, group meeting, etc. And there is lots of parking out back.

The original Legion group was known as the Gallatin County World War Vets. The group petitioned to become a recognized affiliate in September 1919, and on August 20th, 1920, the official charter was granted to the American Legion Post 14. That group was originally located on the second floor of the Electric Block building constructed in 1901, the building where the Eagles Aerie #326 is currently located. At the time, the first floor housed the streetcars which ran in Bozeman from 1892 until 1922. The building is adjacent to Soroptomist Park, and it is on the National Historical Register.

When the Electric Block building was redesigned and remodeled in 1945 by Fred Willson, famed Bozeman architect, the Legion searched for a new home. Nelson Story bought the old Legion Hall for the group in memoriam for his son who was killed in WW-II. The building had been used as a church prior to that time. The Legion was housed there for 64 years until it’s untimely demise in 2009.

The American Legion is the nations largest veterans service organization. It is non-profit, and is committed to sponsoring youth and veterans activities in our communities, and promoting patriotism, honor, national security, and recognizing our nations military members and veterans. The Legion also supports the Child Welfare Foundation, American Legion Baseball, shooting sports, scouting, flag advocacy, Heroes to Hometowns, and many other activities.

Whether you’re a veteran or not, the Legion is open to the public and is a great place to visit, join, or host an event. Come on down and check out the newest building on Main Street and say hi to Tom Jones.

Mike Comstock is an MSU graduate; software engineer by day, math tutor in the evenings, musician on the weekends, and freelance writer in his spare time.