Bemidji American Legion Hosts 2nd Annual Appreciation Lunch at Veterans Home

They say that nothing beats a home-cooked meal. The Bemidji American Legion Post took that saying to heart with their second ever walleye fish fry, which they cooked up as a “thank you” to local vets at the Bemidji Veterans Home and to the staff who help take care of them.

“Just can’t thank them enough,” said Bemidji American Legion Ralph Gracie Post #14 Commander Steve Jewett. “It’s a tough job and we’re just so appreciative, so this is one way that the American Legion of Bemidji can say ‘thank you for what you do’ and how much we really appreciate it.”

In total, they had nearly 250 freshly caught fillets they cooked up right on site.

“You can’t hardly beat when everything is fresh made: the wild rice hotdish, the potato salad,” stated Jewett. “It’s like having a home-cooked meal, which normally you may [not] get in other places.”

“This is their home, and that everybody wants to feel in their home that they’re part of a community,” said Bemidji Veterans Home Public Affairs Coordinator Maryhelen Chadwick. “It’s just support for the residents here. They know that people care about them.”

The walleye was caught fresh in the morning from Red Lake and the wild rice came from Leech Lake. Between those two and the American Legion, all of the food was donated, and then cooked and served to veterans by the American Legion and Bemidji Fire Department.

“Their motto, too, is service to the community,” said Jewett about the fire department’s help. “So we get everybody kind of involved in this, and it’s just a good community effort to say ‘thank you’ to our veterans and our staff. It’s the community that comes together to help support our veterans, and this is what we really appreciate.”

“It’s humbling and both inspiring, too, just the tremendous amount of support we get from the community,” Chadwick added. “They reach out all the time to see how they can support us, whether it’s doing something like this, a great event like this, or sponsoring things financially, or just coming in and spending time with the veterans. We’re just really grateful to have a great community like Bemidji.”

This is the second year that the American Legion has held this event, but they’re looking to make this an annual luncheon to give Bemidji Veterans Home residents something special to look forward to at the end of summer.