Despite trend, Florence Legion marches on
Staff writer
The county has many different Memorial Day ceremonies each year, and 2025 was no exception.
But one veterans’ organization is increasingly doing an outsized amount of work.
Despite grim conditions, Florence’s John McKay American Legion conducted ceremonies at four different cemeteries Memorial Day.
A volunteer group made up of mostly of Florence Legion members and a few relations presented honors at 9:30 a.m. at Mount Calvary Cemetery in Florence.
Thirty minutes later, the group drove to Cedar Point Cemetery in Chase County to do the same thing.
The Legionaries were back in Florence for an 11 a.m. ceremony at Hillcrest Cemetery and ended their day at Marion Cemetery with a 2 p.m. procession.
The full Marion service, presented by Marion’s Kiwanis Club, was called off because of weather, but a few members of the Legion arrived at 2 anyway, determined to present honors rain or shine.
Josh Inlow is the commander of Florence American Legion.
“We’ve had a pretty strong membership, and we’ve been working hard just to be active and support the community,” Inlow said. “I think a lot of veterans have been seeing that and are interested in helping out and wanting to be part of our team.”
The Florence post has about 60 members — an impressive number in a town of less than 400.
Its size and recruitment has allowed it to thrive where other posts have faded in recent years.
Marion’s American Legion, for example, has not been active for several years.
Marion Lake resident Tommy Holland, formerly a member of a Legion in Kansas City, has been trying to revive the post, but it has been slow going.
“I’ve only lived here for about two, three years,” Holland said. “When I moved here, the post wasn’t really active. I’ve been trying to get it active, get stuff moving.”
But Holland, with four kids and a busy schedule, is “not really sure” whether the post will be revived anytime soon. He will need community support.
Inlow said reasons for the Marion post fell apart were common.
“I believe they had a lot of older members, and some of them passed on or just couldn’t handle it,” Inlow said. “We’ve been able to recruit some younger guys to step up and help out. I think that makes a world of difference.”
The Florence post took over Marion’s Memorial Day service in 2020 after COVID caused most Legion posts to cancel ceremonies.
“Even though there was a pandemic going on, those veterans still needed to be honored,” Inlow said.
The next year, the Marion Legion wasn’t able to put together a service. A few Florence members with relatives buried in Marion didn’t want them to go unrecognized, and the Florence Legion decided to cover the cemetery, Inlow said.
They have conducted Memorial Day services in Marion every year since.
Other Legion groups, like those in Lincolnville and Peabody, continue to have active groups and carry out their own services.
Jay Gfeller, commander of Peabody’s Legion, said he wasn’t worried about his post declining in membership. His group has 32 members.
“We’ve got a really strong sons and ladies auxiliary group at our post,” Gfeller said. “Everybody kind of pitches in to make anything we do throughout the year successful.”
Peabody helps Florence provide honors at funerals he added.
Josh Plenert, commander of the Hillsboro American Legion Post, was more concerned about his post’s future.
Plenert’s post is the biggest in the county with 125 members.
The Hillsboro post planned a full color guard at Hillsboro’s Memorial Park, but the service was moved inside the Legion post at 405 S. Floral Dr. because of the rain.
State Representative Mike King give a speech.
The Hillsboro Legion’s has halved in size since 2008, and it is struggling to recruit, Plenert said.
“We get very few new members,” he said. “Every year at our service, we read off the members who have passed on in the last year. And every year, it’s double or more of what we bring on.”
He attributed the decline partly to economic reasons.
“People work two jobs. Husbands and wives each work,” Plenert said. “That doesn’t leave any time for volunteerism.”
But there also is a larger, more ideological issue, he said.
“I don’t know what can be done outside of having civic responsibility inside of yourself,” he said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot to offer for people who don’t value things of that nature.”
Inlow wasn’t sure why his post had thrived while others seemed to be in decline.
“When we come across other veterans, we just talk to them about the Legion and what we do and welcome them into our family,” he said. “I think the main thing is just keeping the interest of the younger generation and recruiting new members.”
Plenert praised the work of Inlow and the Florence group.
“We have a hard enough time here,” he said. “It’s impressive that they can do anything with how small Florence is.”