The owners of convenience stores and petroleum stations have donated $500 to the American Legion Post 249’s effort to upgrade and modernize their 89-year-old hall in downtown Manteca.
The Central Valley chapter of the American Petroleum & Convenience Stores Association led by President Sukhi Sandu who owns three stores in Manteca presented the check to the Legion post on Friday.
The Legion post has already invested $17,000 into the hall to put in an ADA compliant handicap ramp and door from the side parking lot. Now they’re preparing to tackle the remodeling and expansion of the post building some by some 30 feet. It’s an endeavor that is expected to cost nearly $450,000. The effort is at around $45,000 collected so far. Past Post Commander Bob Gonzales expects the fundraising campaign to take three years.
The expansion is designed to expand programs as well as correct deficiencies.
Narrow stairways lead to bathrooms — one for men and the other for women — on either side of the stage at the Legion Hall in downtown Manteca at 220 East Yosemite Avenue.
The bathrooms cannot accommodate wheelchairs
In addition the kitchen is beneath the stage making it equally difficult to access.
The hall built in 1929 as a gathering spot for veterans who have served America has the capacity to seat 110 — one 20th of Manteca’s population at the time. The expansion will significantly increase capacity.
The hall, however, over the years has been more than simply a place for veterans to gather to support each other and to seek assistance.
For decades, it was also “the” community gathering spot in Manteca.
Manteca residents would flock to the Legion Hall for various community gatherings.
Even with its limitations, the hall still serves as a community gathering space for Manteca. It is also routinely booked for wedding receptions and other events to help breathe life into the 100 and 200 blocks of East Yosemite Avenue on the weekends.
There is a huge demand to rent the hall due to it being smaller and less expensive that other venues such as the nearby MRPS Hall that are often booked solid.
The remodel and expansion will met that need but it also will help expand the post’s ability to serve veterans.
Legion Post 249 meets the second Tuesday with a dinner at 6 p.m. that is free to members. The program starts at 7 p.m.
Monthly dinners on the third Saturday of the month help fund expenses associated with maintaining the post home.
Some of the endeavors the post is involved with including sponsoring a Boys Scout Troop ad Girls Scout Troop, Boys State, Veterans Day ceremonies, Memorial Day ceremonies, Flags Over Manteca, Blue Star and Gold Star recognition, and funeral honor guard for veterans.
To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com
