Officers of the American Legion from several towns in the Midcoast gathered at the Wells-Hussey Post 42 in Damariscotta December 29 to discuss ways they can support one another and generate new membership. 

“Let's go back to the county,” Topsham resident Chic Ciciotte said to members who came to the area meeting from Rockland to Phippsburg. 

Ciciotte is past National Vice Commander of the American Legion. “We're going to fill this hall, and we're all going to be better for it.”

Ciciotte was referring to the way the American Legion in Maine used to be structured. They changed from a county-led organization to one that brought people together into districts. Ciciotte said this eliminated various positions and changed the way in which members communicated. 

Legionaires and Ladies Auxiliary members used to meet at the same time and Ciciotte said communication among posts was better under the county-led structure. 

In the past 12 years, the regional organization has lost 6,000 members, Ciciotte said. He said he believes it has a lot to do with communication and the congenial atmosphere that existed under the former structure.

“It used to be more fun,” Ciciotte said during a follow-up interview. Whole families would attend meetings that typically involved a meal, sometimes a dance afterward. Sometimes members would gather for weekend events. 

A lifeguard would watch over the children at a nearby beach as officers held their meeting, families would socialize during a picnic and a lot of work would get done during these gatherings, he said. 

“We used to go home and talk about what we accomplished,” Ciciotte said to the some 30 members in the Damariscotta Legion Post hall, his face slightly flushed and his voice rising to just under a shout.

Nationally, membership in the American Legion has dropped from over 3 million to 2 million, according to Ciciotte. However, new sub-organizations, programs and a new wave of veterans that have recently joined indicate promise for the national organization formed by veterans of World War I in 1919.

A lack of training, an aging demographic and some complacency have contributed to the overall decline in membership to the nonprofit, according to Ciciotte. 

However, some 500,000 Afghanistan War veterans nation-wide have recently joined, which he says is a promising sign. 

What was lost in the last decade can be found again through recruitment and the rejuvenation of ideas from past projects. 

Ciciotte reminded fellow members of the Spinoza Bear (www.spinozabear.com), a teddy bear that through the use of cassette tapes helped people through times of distress. Ciciotte said the bears helped veterans cope with Post Traumatic Stress Distorder (PTSD), children raised in dysfunctional families, battered women and many others. 

While the organization no longer offers the Spinoza Bear as part of its programs, new developments provide services to those in need. The Legion Riders, a motorcycle group that recently formed as part of the organization, raises funds for veterans affairs. 

According to American Legion Rider officer Kaye Bouchard, they raised $15,000 for homeless veterans in Maine last year.

The American Legion Auxiliary is a very important part of the organization, Ciciotte said, as is the Sons of the American Legion. Auxiliary President Mary Jane McLoon of Walpole confirmed Ciciotte's statements, adding that they want to revitalize groups and increase membership. She would also like to see their organization restructured to bring members closer together.

More information about the American Legion in Maine can be found online at: www.mainelegion.org. The organization's state headquarters is located in Oakland. Their phone number is 207-465-4966.