We are only a few weeks away from restarting our bi-weekly breakfasts on April 6. Same times as last year, 7:30 to 9, with the usual wide variety of delicious choices. While prices for everything is going up, we are holding to the same donation recommendations as last year, $15 for adults and just $5 for kids under 11. Takeout is always an option as well. While we always have scrambled eggs, you can also request to have your eggs the way you like them, although don’t too creative! We will continue to have the “rolling presentations” on the big TV screens around the Hall. If you have a message you want to “advertise,” we can add it to the presentation. For commercial advertising, the cost is just $100 and you can change the advertising as often as you want. If you own or manage a restaurant and have a special coming up, we can change the slide to get that word out. If you are a community non-profit and want to advertise up coming event(s), we can put that into the rolling presentation at no cost as a  “public service.” The Post can always create a slide for anyone but will need the words and pictures that would be appropriate. Contact the Hall at 633-4487 or Dave Patch at 751-5672 or dapatch66@gmail.com if you would like to advertise or have a message on the Big Screen!

How much do you know about Togus or the Togus VA Medical Center (VAMC) in Augusta? Well, the Center has seven full-time outreach clinics and two part-time clinics serving over 42,500 veterans. At the main hospital in Augusta, there are 67 operating beds with general medical, surgical, intermediate and mental health beds, as well as 100 beds including hospice, dementia, long-stay and skilled.

Originally, Togus was a summer resort called Togus Springs established in 1859 by Horace Beals, a wealthy granite merchant from Rockland. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln needed a residential place for Civil War injured veterans and chose Togus Springs Resort to be that location. The resort was thus closed in 1863 with the first veterans admitted in 1866 but rapidly grew to just under 400. A building program began in 1868 that resulted in a residential population of more than 3,000 veterans. In 1930 with the establishment of the Veterans Administration (VA), Togus officially became a VA facility, and thus Togus was the first VA hospital; and by the end of World War II it became a full-service medical center. The question often asked is “what does ‘Togus’ mean. The name comes from the Native American word Worromontogus, which means “mineral water.” So now you know “the rest of the story.”

Vietnam era veterans, don’t forget SSG Travis Mills USA(Ret) Vietnam Veterans Welcome Home Breakfast on Wednesday, March 26 from 9 to 11 at the Augusta Civic Center. And then on Friday, March 28 at 1 p.m., the annual Vietnam Veteran Recognition Ceremony at the Capital in the Hall of Flags.