Serving veterans and more at the Roseville VFW
Roseville Post offers visitors a good time
This week, I visited the Roseville VFW Post 7555 to find out more about the club, its members, and what it has to offer Roseville area residents. I met with Michael (Dutch) Johnson, who is the former junior vice commander of the post, and Ash Cozart-Lewis, club manager.
Greg Simbeck, for the Roseville Reader: Let's talk a little bit about the history of the club and its membership.
Michael Johnson: “We were chartered on March 5th, 1929. I have been with the post about seven years now. Some of the members joined 30 or 40 years ago. Our current building has been here since 1975. This is the third building that Post 7555 has been in. There was a strip mall off of Lexington and another place that was further into St. Paul. We've kept the same flag for our entire existence.”
GS: And how many members does Post 7555 have?
MJ: “At the end of last year, there were 277. I think we have lost some members through attrition due to people passing away or discontinuing their membership. Currently, I believe we're somewhere between 258 and 277 members.”
GS: How do you qualify to be a member of a VFW?
MJ: “VFW stands for Veterans of Foreign Wars. So in order to qualify to be part of the VFW, you have to have served in a foreign war and show a ribbon, or a decoration you’ve received in the service of your country. Or a piece of paper that showed you served. Usually we take a look at a DD-214 form (military service form), and we can tell by the ribbons on that form.
“Maybe you received the Vietnam Service Award, or the Silver Star for certain heroics, or the Purple Heart for being wounded in combat. This includes all eligible veterans who served in the Army. Navy, Air Force, Marines, and the Space Force.”
GS: Now, if you didn't serve, there is an Auxiliary.
MJ: “If someone had a family member that served in combat, maybe their father, their grandfather, their mother, or a brother, they are eligible to join the Auxiliary. They served in combat, and so they're eligible to join the Auxiliary.”
GS: And do you know how many members are in the Auxiliary?
MJ: “Last count we had about 100 members.”
GS: So one of the issues obviously facing VFWs and Legions is the loss of aging veterans. Is there an influx of younger veterans who are becoming members?
MJ: “I'm a member of the Joint Color Guard with the American Legion, and we're rendering honors today for a World War II veteran who's getting buried. So the declining membership is an issue. I am the District 4 Membership Chair for the VFW Post 7555, one of nine different posts within the district. The number one thing that I run into is that people have not been asked. Thirty-one years of service, and it wasn't until I reached my retirement in 2018 that I was asked to join a VFW.
“The majority of our veterans now are Vietnam veterans, and many were not welcomed back when they came back. Some were shunned within society. There are still Vietnam veterans that are recovering from that. VFWs are a healing place because you have others who have gone through the same experiences, and you're able to talk about things. And that’s the biggest thing is to be able to discuss mental and physical things that affect you. And this is how VFWs came about as a whole. We have a real sense of community here.”
GS: What kind of global outreach efforts do Post 7555 members participate in?
MJ: “We have some members that are in service as part of a military reserve or Guard unit. They may be called upon to help in distressed areas around the world. When Haiti suffered its earthquake, some of our members were called up to help with that natural disaster. We had members serve in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.”
GS: There are charitable activities that your members are involved in. Can you talk about some of the work you do?
MJ: “Not every VFW has a charitable gambling operation that is run through the Roseville Area Youth Hockey Association collects funds to redistribute out to the community. .We're grateful for that operation, and a certain percentage of what we raise goes out to the Roseville community. Some of the funds are used to assist veterans, and we’re also big supporters of hockey and other Roseville athletics. Other things that we do within the community are meet with and financially support veterans that live at the Veterans Home in St. Paul.
“I’m a member of the color guard, and a veteran from our post passes away; they are eligible for a color guard at their funeral. We also help Fort Snelling out with some of their burial ceremonies. Veterans Day is coming up, and it's a busy time for us. We visit several senior homes that day, and organizations are frequently requesting our services. That's good outreach because people see you out and about in the community.”
GS: Ash, you run the day-to-day operations at the club. What would people do here if they came to the club?
Ash Cozart-Lewis: “So I am the new club manager as of June, and I deal with all of the staffing and operations, as well as communicating with the Post and the Auxiliary to schedule events. And program things like karaoke on certain nights or based on feedback we have received from guests. We really try to accommodate the interests of the community.”
GS: And what are the operating hours of the club?
ACL: “We are open at 11 a.m. Every day, and on weekends we close at 1 a.m., and during the work week at midnight. On Sundays, we close at nine. But my intention is to change that during the winter hours so the community has somewhere warm to be at a later time.”
GS: What should Roseville residents and others know about your restaurant and the pizza you serve.
ACL: The restaurant upstairs, the VFW kitchen, is separate from the Ville City Pizza Kitchen, which leases space from us. Each day has a different food feature. So yesterday was our California Burger Night, and it’s really great. The pizza that Ville City serves is fantastic. Our prices have gone up a little, but we're still really competitive and priced a lot less than some other restaurants and bars out there.”
GS: What weekly activities do you host at the club?
ACL: “There are some standing activities. Every Thursday we have bingo, and on Wednesdays and Saturdays we have a gift card raffle. I just reinstated the meat raffle that's on Fridays. Tonight is our first attempt at a bottles and bags bingo. We're looking to get more involved with veteran-focused events.
“We have a blood drive here once a quarter. A couple of weeks ago, we had the Honor Flight returning at the airport, and the War Pigs came in and did a free tasting, and a bunch of us, including the color guard, had it ready for the veterans as they returned from the flight.”
GS: Any plans for other programming?
ACL: “We had a really wonderful event over the weekend with the trunk-or-treat that was through the Auxiliary for the kiddos. The vets writing club did a spaghetti dinner and then a Fireball-toasted vanilla tasting. We’re bringing back the chili kebab on Nov. 8, and we have a chili cook-off coming up. I've got some really great staff that are excited about learning about the community. Our Auxiliary president is in charge of our social media, so she's really active and continues to update them.”
GS: Tell me about your rental hall.
ACL: “I have a coordinator named Janae, and she organizes all the events down there. You can order food from the VFW kitchen, the pizza kitchen, or you are welcome to bring your own food. They can hire a bartender through us. The hall can seat 100 people.”
GS: Have you had any contact with the city about the expansion of their campus?
Michael Johnson: “We've been in negotiation with the city for the past six years. They were trying to develop a bigger civic plaza campus, and originally they were looking to buy out our entire facility and move us elsewhere. This was about six or seven years ago. Then they were looking at moving us across the street, and they were going to build us a new building there. Then they were going to renovate a building and have us move there.
“They finally decided that they're going to move the DMV office to a new building on the west side of our parking lot. That would have entailed the city taking part of the park and including that in the parking lot. They voted on vacating part of the park, and the vote failed. So the DMV moving to our side of the parking lot is not going to happen. The city has decided that they're going to put that elsewhere, and so the whole deal with us is off.”
GS: Anything else?
MJ: “When there are youth games or practices at the arena across the street, we designate one of the TVs so the parents, while they get something to eat, can come in and watch their kids play or practice from a camera that’s been set up at the facility. And when practice is over, they go to the arena and pick their kids up.”
ACL: “We're open to the public. You don't have to be a club member in order to come through the doors.”
The Anderson-Nelson Roseville VFW Post 7555 is located at 1145 Woodhill Drive, Roseville, MN.
Editorial note: This Q&A interview was edited for length and clarity.
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