A lack of support is forcing the Veterans Center in Cobleskill to close.
A joint venture by AMVETS of Schoharie County and the American Legion, the center will close July 31 after a run of a little more than 18 months.
The center is in the former Happy Trails––and before that, Joe’s Bar and Grill––on Division Street. Veterans operated the bar and restaurant not only for their own members, but for the public, also.
“The members don’t care, and the community doesn’t support it,” said Larry Bush, AMVETS commander.
“Five or six of us are doing all the work, and we just can’t do it any more.”
Legion Commander Judy Tinti agreed that support was lacking.
“It’s pretty bad when the community and also your own comrades don’t support you to have a nice place to put on dinners and other events,” she said.
“We’d usually get the same six, seven, eight to come out, but we certainly needed more than that to support it.”
Mr. Bush said veterans spent money on advertising, and the center appeared to be making a go of it before business dwindled.
Organizers had hoped more of the 100 to 150 members of AMVETS and the Legion would respond.
“We went into it with that in mind, that if we don’t get support, we’ll close it,” Mr. Bush said. “It’s not like we didn’t know what we were up against.”
They originally planned to run the center for a while, then buy the building from owner Pat Collins. Losses in the stock market, however, “took away our down payment,” Mr. Bush said.
Now, he added, AMVETS and the Legion will use the Fred. L. Stilson Post Legion building on MacArthur Avenue.
“We’ll go to the little building,” Mr. Bush said. “For what few members do show up, it’s plenty big enough.
“But I’m sorry it turned out this way.”