Ladies Auxiliary, Dismissed : 8-Member Santa Ana Chapter Serves Its Final Meal--Takeout

After 75 years of hearty chicken and steak dinners, American Legion Ladies Auxiliary Unit 131 ended its final meeting this week with ham, beef and turkey sandwiches from a local Subway Sandwiches shop.

When the unit hit its peak in the 1940s, more than 400 wives and other female relatives of servicemen would cook and sell elaborate dinners, donating the proceeds to charity.

But with only eight active members left, many in their 70s and 80s, there was too little energy to keep the club afloat--or even cook the final dinner.

“We go after wives, mothers and sisters” trying to boost membership, said 50-year member Audrey Tewell. “We write to them and invite them to come visit us.

“If you can catch potential new members at the bar, they say yes, they will join,” said Tewell, 74. “Then, the next day, they change their minds.”

Tewell and her fellow members of Auxiliary 131 are not alone.

Nationwide, the rise of working women, the aging World War II veterans and a generation gap are expected to continue to erode membership.

Auxiliary units are affiliated with American Legion posts. Members must be wives, mothers, sisters, daughters or granddaughters of veterans who have served during times of war or conflict. The auxiliary is dedicated to charity work, and its mission statement includes a pledge to “God and country.”

Countywide, the number of auxiliary unit members is 1,502, up slightly from 1,473 last year. But not all members are active; on paper, the Santa Ana unit counted 60 members.

Legion and auxiliary membership is down nationwide and statewide slightly from the 1950s, when posts swelled with the large pool of World War II and Korean veterans. And the legion predicts a further decline in membership as the bulk of its members, World War II veterans, pass away, said Lee Hardy, the legion’s national director of membership.

“Santa Ana has been hit especially hard because many of its members are older,” said Howard Darter, a former commander of Post 131.

The Santa Ana unit counts slightly more than 800 members, down from a high of 1,500 in the 1960s, Darter said. He said he recently helped boost membership by about 100, but that no more than 30 members are active.

Darter acknowledged that in Santa Ana, as in many posts nationwide, Vietnam War veterans were not always welcomed by those of World War II. “They called the Vietnam vets hippies,” said Darter, a Vietnam War vet.

Although Darter said he has been trying to bring in younger members, “World War II vets are getting older and they’re not being replaced as quickly by Vietnam vets.”

And with a lack of young men, there is a lack of female relatives to join the auxiliary.

Another national trend bearing down on auxiliaries is the number of working women, who do not have the time to join service clubs.

“They work, they have babies,” said Helen Davis, the former Santa Ana auxiliary president. “We understand.”

Davis said she still hopes to resurrect the auxiliary someday. “We’ll still help the men,” she said, “and hopefully induce the younger ladies to come in.”

“My heart aches that it’s closing,” said Pat Sweeney, the state auxiliary president. But she added that auxiliaries often fold, only to be restarted later by someone else.

A Placentia unit folded in 1987 but was restarted in 1992, thanks in large part to younger women who took an interest, said Joanne Cramer, a former Placentia auxiliary president. She noted that many of the new members are the wives of Vietnam War veterans.

Worldwide, the auxiliary counts approximately 980,000 members, slightly down from just more than 1 million members in 1955. In California, membership is 31,196, down from a high of 46,665 in 1955.

Auxiliary officials say they are proud of their overall membership figures but acknowledge that their future is tied to the legion’s.

Nationwide, legion membership is just more than 3 million, down from a high of 3.3 million in 1946.

Post 131 in Santa Ana was founded in 1919 and was headquartered on Birch Street. One year later, the ladies auxiliary was founded, Davis said.

After the 1933 Long Beach earthquake, Darter said, the auxiliary was instrumental in aiding those who were also stricken in Santa Ana.

“In the 1930s, before the Red Cross had a disaster program the ladies auxiliary did a lot of the feeding of the people,” Darter said.

From the 1940s through the 1970s, the auxiliary would have $5-a-plate dinners for as many as 500 people from organizations such as the post office or local hospital.

“We had loads of people,” said Tewell. “The place was packed.”

Combined with bake sales and other activities, Tewell estimated that Ladies Auxiliary 131 has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to charity over the years.

After the Birch Street building burned, the post moved to its current location at 1404 N. Grand Ave.

But auxiliary membership declined in the ‘80s, and so did interest in the dinners. By 1990, membership slipped to 100 and over the past few years, the auxiliary has been cooking one meal a month for about 40 members and their guests.

The auxiliary may have lost its membership war but Darter was quick to credit the members for their fighting spirit.

“It was their dedication that got me to stay active,” he said.

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Legion of Women

In its 75th year, the American Legion Auxiliary closed its Santa Ana unit because membership had fallen to eight. A look at the organization that supports America’s military:

* Founded: 1919 in Minneapolis; organized meetings began in 1920.

* Objective: Support work of American Legion, focus on veterans, young people, community.

* Member age: 88% older than 18 years old

* International members: 980,000 in 11,000 units; peaked in 1955 with more than 1 million.

* State members: 31,196 in 359 units.

* State history: Unit 1 established in 1922 in San Francisco with 4,736 members; peaked in 1955 with 46,665 members.

* Orange County members: 1,502 in 12 units (11 units with the closing of the Santa Ana unit).

Source: American Legion Auxiliary