Smethport and Crosby Legion members and the Smethport VFW have seen a need during the current pandemic and are working to meet the needs of area residents.
Bart Barton of the Bucktail American Legion Post #138 said he got the idea after talking to his sister. She currently lives in North Carolina and is a quilter. When she received a request to make masks, she gathered a group of 100 women and organized the creation of 3,000 masks in a one-week period. Each woman made 30 masks, which can be made using 3 and ¾ yards of material.
For the project in Smethport, the legion members plan to pay for the materials. They are seeking volunteers to sew masks, so they can start helping out those in the area who are not talented in crafting or simply do not have the materials to make a mask and haven’t been able to find anyone to provide one for them.
Barton noted that he personally has seen people struggling to cover their face when he goes out for groceries or other necessary trips, and the Legion members want to help these individuals have proper masks for a better level of protection for those around them. Meanwhile, outfitting as many people as possible means protecting the community as a whole. Barton noted that plans are in the works to reach out to Costa’s Supermarket to find a way to provide masks to those who visit the grocery store and need a mask.
If anyone would like to donate materials, they will be happily put to good use. However, Barton explained that the Legion members have funds that would normally be supporting baseball or softball teams that, sadly, won’t be needed for a 2020 season.
“The Legion baseball team has been shut down completely for this year,” Barton said. “There will be some money that won’t go to baseball and softball teams, so this gives us another good spot to put that money.”
The funds will go toward purchasing material to create masks, and Barton has a theme in mind.
“We are going to use patriotic materials. If people see others with flags or stars on their masks, they can know that it is from the vets,” Barton said. He noted that this way, people will think of the Legions more than once a year when they see members marching in a parade.
Barton has reached out to make sure that this type of material is easily accessible in the local area.
“I talked to Joanne Fabrics in Olean (N.Y.), and all I have to do is put the online order in. I call when I get there, and they’ll bring it to the car,” he said.
Regular donations to the food pantry and the 4-H Clubs, who are still raising animals and doing some limited activities, are proceeding as usual. This program will just be another way to help the community, at a time when patriotism and helping one’s neighbor is a welcome effort.
Barton has set up an email address and requests that anyone who would like to volunteer send an email to that address with “Volunteer” in the subject line. For those who need masks, they are to use “Need Masks” as their subject line and reach out using the same email address.
A post to the American Legion Post #138’s Facebook page will provide more information.
“We are going to start by fulfilling the need in the Smethport area first,” Barton said. “We are going to see if the health care center needs (masks), reach out to Sena Kean Manor and Lakeview.
“We are going to reach out to the Legions in Bradford, Kane and Ludlow and the VFW in Kane and invite them to participate.”
Barton explained that by working with other Legions, they can take requests for masks from other areas, pass them on to the closest organization that is involved in this effort and get the masks made by volunteers in that area so they can reach the person in need more quickly. The Smethport Legion would provide the material, and the other Legions would be tasked with finding volunteers.
The Smethport project will also involve John Berg Memorial Post #976 in Crosby, the Smethport VFW, and the Sons of the American Legion and the Legion Riders based in Crosby for delivery tasks.
