[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 115 (Monday, September 25, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




JUDE THADDEUS CATHOLIC WAR VETERANS POST 1975 ON THEIR 50TH ANNIVERSARY

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                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, September 25, 2000

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to recognize the 50th 
anniversary of the Jude Thaddeus Catholic War Veterans Post 1675 in 
Toledo, Ohio. The post celebrates its anniversary this month. On June 
12, 1950, a charter was granted to the Jude Thaddeus Post by the 
National Department of the Catholic War Veterans. Those first meetings 
were conducted in the loft of the St. Francis de Sales Parish near 
downtown Toledo. After traveling from parish to parish for a time, the 
Post sought a permanent home. Those original members got to work in 
rehabilitating a small building on Stickney Avenue in North Toledo, 
which became the organization's first headquarters. As the membership 
expanded the Post moved again, establishing a hall and canteen on North 
Toledo's vibrant Lagrange Street. Tragedy struck, however, when a fire 
destroyed the building in 1965. Nonetheless with the help of the Ladies 
Auxiliary and every single other veterans organization in the 
neighborhood as well as many in the greater Toledo area, the Jude 
Thaddeus Post was able to regroup, raise funds, and rebuild at its 
present location.
  The Post strives to maintain its mission to serve veterans. Residents 
of the Ohio Veterans Home are regularly brought to the post home for 
meals and games. The Auxiliary helps out every month at the Toledo VA 
Outpatient Clinic. The Post makes all kinds of donations to veterans 
hospitals in Ohio, and it lends equipment such as wheelchairs, canes 
and walkers to area veterans in need.
  Saint Jude Thaddeus is the patron saint of impossible tasks. Through 
all the Post's trials and hardships, its namesake stood as a beacon and 
reminder that anything could be accomplished with prayer, cooperation, 
and effort. All members of the Jude Thaddeus Post of the Catholic War 
Veterans are proud to say, ``I belong'' and put that strength of 
belonging into practice to achieve their loftiest goals.
  As the members of the Post and Auxiliary take time to celebrate and 
reflect on fifty years of growth and change, remembering friends and 
families who may no longer be with them, reliving old glories and 
hardships, yet still looking forward to the future and its 
possibilities. I am pleased to represent our community as a part of the 
celebration. May I offer my own, our community's, and our nation's 
everlasting thanks to the members of the Jude Thaddeus Post and 
Auxiliary for their sacrifice in battle, and equally important, for 
their accomplishments in peace.

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