At the June meeting of the John H. Slaughter American Legion Post 30 of Springerville, AZ, Ralph Salce was elected Commander for 1990-1991.
While Salce was Commander he became suspicious when the proceeds from the Tuesday night Bingo, the principal source of income for the Post, dropped precipitously. An investigation of the Adjutant, Leonard Robertson, who ran the Bingo, was conducted by Salce together with the officers from the State Legion, and Robertson was voted out of the Legion.
Bingo had been stopped, and it was discovered that there were a number of unpaid utility bills going back months, as well as a bank loan still outstanding. An Auxiliary member, Lucie Erhart, proposed that the Post have a Ball to raise money. Herb Erhart approached the pastor of the local Catholic church, St. Peter's, for permission to use the Church Gym for the Ball. The pastor agreed, and the Ball cleared $1900, enough to pay the bills. By the end of the year, the Post was free of debt.
Fear that a disgruntled Robertson might burn the Post down led to thinking about what the Legion would do if it lost its building. It was this thinking that led to thinking about building a bigger Post, and to the Harpers to offer a land trade--the land on which the present Post stood (next to their home) for a larger plot nearby.
