Business Men and Legionnaires Hold Annual Banquet
CRETE, Neb.—One raccoon which met an untimely death 14 years ago unwittingly was responsible for starting an annual banquet which has been observed by Crete Post No. 147 of the American Legion ever since and which has developed into an outstanding occasion for the business men and until now over 300 men attend the famous “Coon Feed” staged by the post. The original “Coon Feed” centered around that one ‘coon which had been killed by a member of the post. He invited in a few friends to share the delicacy with him. About the same time the next year, a couple more ‘coons were killed, and the party became a little larger. In the next few years it became more and more popular, with more and more business men wanting to attend this “Coon Feed,” so it was decided to throw the affair wide open to all Legionnaires and business men who wanted to attend. The result has
been a much closer relationship between the Legion and the business interests of the city, and a greatly improved understanding by those outside the Legion of what the organization is trying to accomplish. For a number of years, most of the ‘coons for this banquet were provided for the post by a man who was a veteran of the German Army. He did considerable hunting and trapping and the ‘coons he killed were placed in cold storage until enough had been secured to serve as the basis for the fine dinner which is served at the “Coon Feed”. Roast pork and beef, with all the trimmings, supplement the ‘coon at these banquets now, and every bit of food is prepared by a detail of cooks and K.P.’s from the post. Even the dish-washing is handled by these men. ‘Coon meat has been the featured dish on every banquet menu since this “Coon Feed” was started with the exception of one year. That year the Crete Post entered into an arrangement with a post in Maine whereby the ‘coons from Nebraska were traded for enough clams from Maine to have a clambake instead of the usual “Coon Feed.” One trial was enough to convince the Crete Legionnaires that they liked the ‘coon meat better than clams, so they have stayed with the ‘coon every since. The “Coon Feed” is always attended by department officials of the Legion, who are called upon to explain to the many business men in attendance the purposes and principles of the Legion and what it is doing for the good of the community, state and nation.
