Elks Lodge Serves Those Who Served Us

Elks Lodge Serves Those Who Served Us Club hosts holiday dinner in appreciation of local veterans

+ click to enlarge News staff photo by Andrew Mansfield Sisters Latashia Hurst and Viola Myles are both veterans and currently students at Mount Wachusett Community College. They attended a holiday dinner at the Elks Lodge on Sunday with their families. + click to enlarge News staff photos by Andrew Mansfield Area veterans enjoyed a meal together at the annual holiday dinner at the Elks Lodge on Sunday. ‘It’s like a close-knit family. They do a lot of activities for veterans at the college.’ — Viola Myles Andrew Mansfield Reporter GARDNER  The Elks Lodge in Gardner showed its thanks to veterans and their families with a meal and presents during their annual holiday dinner on Sunday. “We come every year and this year was no exception, the food was great. It was so good,” said veteran Viola Myles. Elks members prepared a meal of meatloaf with plenty of sides and pastries for desserts, gave presents to families’ children, and capped off the occasion with a game of bingo for prizes, as everyone attending enjoyed the camaraderie. The event served as a way for the Elks to give back to veterans, as their motto is to never forget them and the service they provide to the country. About 100 veterans from Central and Western Massachusetts attended. “We started out with just Monta­chusett Veterans Outreach Center and we’ve expanded it year after year, including more organizations in the area,” said Scott Lafortune, chairman of the Elks veterans committee. Ms. Myles and her sister Latashia Hurst attended the dinner with their families. Ms. Hurst was a cook in the Navy in the 2000s and Ms. Myles was in the Army Reserve. Now, they both attend school at Mount Wachusett Community College; Ms. Hurst is studying human services and Ms. Myles is becoming a dental hygienist. They are enrolled through the school’s Veterans Center, which guides them through their experience at college and can help them with basic needs like housing and food. “It’s like a close-knit family. They do a lot of activities for veterans at the college. It kind of just helps you get used to civilian life after being in the military,” said Ms. Myles. Todd Sullivan works as a nurse at the Northampton Veterans Affairs Medical Center, which he said has well over 500 patients. He’s originally from Orange, but used to live on Elm Street and has gone to the Elks holiday dinner for about a decade, driving several patients from the medical center with him on Sunday. “Even though it’s a hell of a drive, I make the trip. These guys are very good to us,” he said. He served as a Marine Corps combat medic from 1979-’94 and said the biggest problem facing veterans today is post-traumatic stress disorder, as the experience of combat lingers long after veterans return home from war. Ogden Moss drove many veterans to the Elks Lodge from the nonprofit organization Soldier On, based out of Leeds, a village in Northampton. “The vets who come to Soldier On are primarily homeless vets,” he said. At Soldier On, veterans are assigned a case manager who assists them with transitioning back into society. They benefit from work opportunities, treatment and housing with the goal of getting them to own their own home. Mr. Moss was in the Army from 1977-’79 and struggled with alcoholism after returning home, but he was able to receive help and is now helping others at Soldier On. He noted that with many veterans home from Iraq and Afghanistan, the country has rallied around them in a greater way than the Vietnam era. “It’s becoming a thing, serving veterans has become popular now with the wars. In America, now is the time to be a vet; America is very pro-vets. There’s a lot of support out there,” he said.