VFW post holds Super Bowl party in new hall

As the national anthem played, the 60 or so people in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Hall Sunday afternoon removed their hats, stood and looked at the flag waving on a big screen TV. Some sang loudly. Thunderous applause followed the final notes.

Shortly afterward, cheers erupted as the Philadelphia Eagles won the coin toss. What seemed like a solemn occasion was only the beginning of a lively Super Bowl party in the new VFW Post 3838 hall on North Kingshighway in Cape Girardeau.

The hall had only been open a week prior to the annual bash. By game time it was filled with members of the VFW, the Ladies Auxiliary and guests. As the game played on five TVs, football fans grazed from a buffet that included chicken wings, chips and dip, chili and an enormous platter of deviled eggs.

Glenn and Wanda Bailey of Benton, Mo., sat in a self-described "Philly section." The couple, who frequent the Hall Friday nights for dancing and karaoke, laughed at the commercials and joked with other football fans.

"You've gotta root for the underdogs," Glenn Bailey said.

Sitting nearby was Lee Fullbright, a lifetime member of the VFW. Fullbright wasn't at the party for the game. "I'm not much of a football fan," he confessed. "I've just come out for the camaraderie."

He, like many of the other veterans in the largest -- about 1,900 members -- VFW post in the state, believes the new hall will be "an asset to the community and the new guys coming over from Iraq."

Debbie Rhodes-Hodge, a Ladies Auxiliary member and volunteer, has high hopes for the new hall. She said the post will be able to host fully catered events as soon as a full-time cook is hired. The three rooms in the hall can seat about 700 people, and "anything from baked chicken to lobster" could be served.

When the old hall is demolished, ample parking will be available. The new hall's grand opening will be April 2, and there will be an open house April 3. Until then and after, it will be host to Friday night karaoke, daily lunches, and the Ladies Auxiliary Steak Night the first Saturday of every month.

Bill Humphries of Cape Girardeau, senior vice commander of the post, watched as party-goers tossed a foam football for every turnover. Humphries is pleased with the new hall, and hopes it brings younger veterans to the organization.

"It's fantastic," he said. "I hope we get a lot of new members. We're getting a lot from Afghanistan and Iraq ... They're my son's age. We need them, and they need us for support."

nstanfield@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126