About 10 years ago a group of guys wanting to honor their family members who had served in the military started a chapter of the Sons of the American Legion in Callaway. The Sons of the American Legion is a patriotic service organization formed in 1932, and is made up of male descendants of people who served in the United States Armed Forces during times specified by the American Legion.

Since its inception, the local chapter of S.O.L. has been striving to find local projects they can do and needs they might be able to help meet, especially those benefitting or honoring veterans. Just last week a very large flag pole was erected at Rose Hill Cemetery, which of course will accommodate a very large flag.

“It began because we wanted to get more flag poles out there for the veterans, then that stemmed to us getting a big memorial stone,” explained Joe Dickman, Commander of Sons of the American Legion of Callaway. Dickman said that, in turn, led to this most recent flag project.

Because they operate with fairly limited resources, Dickman explained they are very appreciative of all the help they can get. The pole for the large flag was donated by Myers Construction, and Ed Lashley with Red Fern Electric donated the labor to install it. The Callaway Village Board agreed to donate $200 on behalf of the Village toward the purchase of the flag. Finally, Clark Griffith donated funds to have a solar light installed on top of the pole to keep the flag lit at night.

Each year the Sons host two fundraisers to generate revenue for community projects. A bake sale is held around Easter time, and the chapter's largest fundraiser - a soup supper - is held in conjunction with the annual Christmas Around Town event.

“We like to help the community. Throughout the years we have donated grocery cards and gas cards to needy families, or funds for traveling, and things like that,” Dickman explained.

The S.O.L. Post 50 currently has 26 members. The chapter meets on the second Thursday of each month at 7 p.m. at the Legion Hall. The Sons is a completely separate chapter from the Callaway American Legion.

The first major project the Sons completed was to erect a Veterans Memorial stone at the cemetery with names of veterans engraved on the back of the stone. Another project is now underway to add a second stone of veteran names at the site. Names can be added to the memorial stone for $100.

“It doesn’t have to be someone local. It can be an honorably discharged member of any branch,” Dickman said.

Anyone interested in adding either your own name or the name of a family member or loved one who has served can contact Joe Dickman or Clint Robinson for more information.