The metal pot was steaming and hundreds of ears of corn were all shucked and clean Saturday as members and volunteers of the American Legion Post 777 in Crum Lynne hosted their annual Corn Boil. “We’ve been doing this for 25 years,” George Casey, president of the Home Association, said. “August is our corn boil time because the corn is the best corn.
” He shared a bit about their preparations. “We get the corn over in Jersey,” Casey said. “It’s a beautiful place.
They pick it fresh. We take it right out. The whole team jumps in and puts it all together.
We all work together. It’s a team that puts everything together.” He explained they purchase five bags containing 60 ears of corn each for the event.
“We’re always counting on good weather,” Casey said, although Saturday they had prepared for any type as volunteers came in the morning to put up tents over the chairs and tables. “If it’s a rainy day, we use our hall,” he explained, noting that some of the senior groups call in advance and ask if the hall will be open with its air conditioning. “Whatever’s you need,” Casey told them.
“Just come, have a great day, enjoy your time here.” He said an added benefit is that they often get members to sign up at social events like the Corn Boil. Right now, the post has approximately 210 members.
Members get discounts at the legion and meals with Tuesday Burger Days being popular. “Our purpose is just to keep the organization going, just to keep it going,” Casey said. “And that’s what we’re trying to do.
Do everything we can to keep it alive.” Among those at the event were several Post 777 members who served the country. Bill Rafferty served in the Marine Corps from 1977 to 1983.
“It’s an honor to serve our country,” he said. “It’s one of the greatest things I ever did in my life.” He explained that the Vietnam War ended in 1975 and he graduated from Monsignor Bonner High school a year later when he was 17 years old.
When he turned 18, he enlisted in the Marines. Rafferty shared what that time meant to him: “What a tremendous honor it was to serve our country and to protect our way of life and our freedoms.” Now, he and his wife have four children and two granddaughters and he sees the legacy he’s helped create for them.
“My children have always been raised to respect America and the flag and our way of life and the sacrifice that many, many, many brave heroes have made, the ultimate sacrifice,” Rafferty said. “You see what you hopefully contributed to their future, in a sense.” He said he grew up a lot in his service that took him up and down the East Coast and to Japan and Korea.
Rafferty spoke about the significance of having the American Legion. “It’s so important,” he said. “It helps us continue our comradeship to each other, ’cause even though we’re Marines and Army and Navy and Air Force and Coast Guard.
We all joke. It’s a lot of good natured fun. We rib each other.
“But, at the end of the day, we’re here to support each other and to take care of fellow veterans in need,” Rafferty said. “Maybe they’re struggling with physical disabilities or mental issues or PTSD. At the end of the day, the military is a brotherhood unlike any other, it really is.
” Joe Rebarchak served in the Air Force from 1960 to 1964 as a part of security air police. Lincoln, Neb., was his home base and they flew to Windsor Locks, Conn.
, during the Cuban Missile Crisis. There, he said, they had seven B-47 bombers. “We sat there for six weeks, I guess,” Rebarchak said.
“And then it was over and we went back home.” At the Corn Boil, tickets for the meal without alcohol were $20 each and with alcoholic beverages were $25. However, at the end of the event, surplus corn was available for $3 a bag.
All proceeds benefited the Post 777. “Whatever we raise here goes right into our legion fund for them to do whatever they do,” Casey said. The volunteers shared what their hope was for all those who attended the boil.
“It’s about getting everybody together,” post bartender Linda Morroni said. Casey added, “I just want them to feel comfortable. That’s the most important thing when you have a thing like this: for them to feel like they’re at home, that they’re comfortable.
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