Ladies Auxiliary continues tradition

On Veterans Day and throughout the year, a group of local women do all that they can to support those involved with the military.

The local Ladies Auxiliary has been active in Warm Springs for over 50 years.

Both the VFW post and the Ladies Auxiliary began in 1952 after a VFW member in Bend approached Arlene Graham’s parents, Graham said.

They expressed interest in founding a VFW post in Warm Springs and soon started the VFW Elliot Palmer Post and accompanying Ladies Auxiliary.

“They were the first all Indian post and auxiliary in the nation,” Graham added.

In fact, the Ladies Auxiliary members have log books dating back to the beginning of the auxiliary in 1952 with lists of members who volunteered their time.

There are 38 members that currently volunteer through the Ladies Auxiliary in Warm Springs.  Throughout the nation, Ladies Auxiliaries consist of female family members of veterans who volunteer their time to support the troops and encourage patriotism.

“It’s a service organization,” Graham said.  “We try to assist veterans and their families.”

When the post and auxiliary first began, Graham said, they were incredibly active and travelled to state and district conventions as well as national conventions.

While the VFW post still hosts a local parade on Veteran’s Day, Graham said, in the past large parades throughout Oregon communities were common and posts would travel to events in other districts.

Both the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary used to host events like rodeos, dances, bowling teams, and concession stands at Pi-Ume-Sha and the Huckleberry Feast.  Several VFW members are even responsible for putting in the baseball fields at the community center.

The women remember being active in contests to sell buddy poppies—disabled veterans still assemble the buddy poppies that are sold to benefit VFW posts around the country.

Throughout the 1960s, Graham said, they had contests to see who could sell the most flowers.  The poppy is the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.

For many of the women involved in the Ladies Auxiliary, their participation began very early on due to encouragement from family members.

Leminnie Smith currently serves as president of the local Ladies Auxiliary.

Smith began volunteering at the age of 14 because of her mother’s involvement with the auxiliary.

“My mom was always active in that and we were always helping,” Smith explained.  As children they would always go to different events to show their support, Smith added, and that was the important thing to her family.

The support is extremely important, Smith explained. “A lot of times it is just having that person beside you,” she said.

Graham also began her involvement with the auxiliary early on.  “I was just a little girl when they started but I can remember working in the concession stands,” she said.

Lucy Gadberry said she believes it is important to volunteer with the Ladies Auxiliary in order to support those who are currently serving in the military.  

Though the auxiliary isn’t as active as it used to be, she said, they try to continue teaching others.

“We just try to continue that and just try to help people remember the way it used to be and the way it started,” Gadberry said.

Her parents both worked with the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary and Gadberry said the work of those in prior generations is what helps the two organizations to continue.

“That helped form kind of a foundation for us to continue,” she explained.

Tamera Kalama said part of the reason she is active in the auxiliary is to make sure it continues to thrive.

“I see the struggle of keeping it in existence,” she said.  “My concern in getting involved was to make sure it didn’t die out.”

Currently many of the women involved in the auxiliary are getting their own younger family members involved as well.  Patriotism and respect are two things that the women all hope to pass on to younger generations.  

Whether it be teaching children to recite the pledge of allegiance or informing them about flag etiquette, Smith said, it is something that her own father taught her and she intends to help pass on.

With funding issues and other problems facing the Ladies Auxiliary, the women do sometimes struggle to keep the group going.

In other areas many veterans’ organizations have ceased to exist, Smith said.

While they may not be able to remain as active in the community as the auxiliary was in the past, she added, a lot of the support is more individualized now.

For instance, when they see a veteran in the community they make sure to thank them, Smith said.

“We’ve always honored our warriors—all the cultures have,” Gadberry said.  “And this is another way for us to support them.”

Because the women grew up in military families, Gadberry said, they understand what it is like and how families can be affected.  That helps them offer up support to veterans and their families.

A current project for the Ladies Auxiliary is the effort to place photos of veterans and those currently serving in the military in a space at I.H.S.

The group of women continues to work on funding the organization and continuing the work of past generations.

According to Graham, “We’re trying to pick up and carry on what the World War II and Korean wives and mothers started.”

Anyone with questions or who would like to help fund the organization or become a member can contact Beulah Tsumpti, secretary and treasurer for the Ladies Auxiliary.

The Ladies Auxiliary meets on the first Tuesday of every month.

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