Arnold city officials and VFW members and dignitaries were on hand Saturday to celebrate the grand opening of the new VFW Post 2593 in Arnold. The new building is on Church Road across from Immaculate Conception Church.
The oppressive heat drove the ceremony indoors, but the enthusiasm remained high.
“Oh, it was absolutely horrible,” said post quartermaster and past commander Phillip Pippins of the 100-plus-degree heat. “We didn’t want anyone to have any trouble, especially any of our older people. It would be just too much to be standing out in that weather.”
An estimated 500 people were on hand for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
They were given tours of the facility and refreshments were served.
“We were thrilled to death,” Pippins said. “We had four Arnold councilmen here. We felt pretty honored.”
The Arnold VFW post was relocated from 1540 Big Bill Road to the Church Road site to make way for the Arnold Commons retail development under construction in the area known as the Triangle. THF Realty in St. Louis County, developer of the Arnold Commons project, agreed to build the new facility for the post in return for the property on which the old post stood.
The former post building was demolished during the first week of August, drawing some sentiment from area residents.
“We had a call from a couple who said they’d had their wedding reception there (at the old post),” Pippins said.
“They wanted to know if they could have a brick from the old place, for a keepsake.”
