On July 10, the American Legion Post 927 celebrated 102 years by reaching out into the community and inviting residents to come and share a good time and lots of memories.

The weather was warm, and people seemed happy to be sharing a day of good food, good music and games.

There was face painting, a dunking tank with way more volunteers to pay the price to dunk someone than volunteers willing to be dunked.

“It is good to see so many people I haven’t seen in a while,” said veteran Gloria Shupp of Chestnuthill Township.

Joe Skabla gave an informal speech and honored all the veterans at the celebration.

One of the reasons the Post invited the community is to try to get new members and to let veterans know their doors are always open to help a military brother or sister.

Post 927 tries to reach out to the community to let veterans and the community see what the American Legion can offer.

Commander Danny Insalata mingled and greeted familiar and not-so-familiar faces, encouraging them to enjoy the food and music.

Insalata likes to tell the story of how he became involved in the Legion. He said he came home from the war, and his life went on.

“I was married, went to work every day, and became a dad, but I always felt like something was missing,” he said.

He had a friend who kept trying to get him to come to one of the Post meetings, and he didn’t think it would be something he would be interested in.

Finally, he decided to stop in and see what it was all about.

Insalata describes what happened when he walked through Post 927’s door. “A feeling came over me, and I felt like I was finally home,” he said.

He admits he had a good life before joining the American Legion, but when he got to know the other veterans, he realized many of them had tried to do what he did - try to put the memories of his time serving his county away and not think about them.

The veterans in the Post already knew how Insalata felt because before coming to the Legion, many of them experienced the same feeling.