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American Legion Post 903 to turn former church into veterans museum
A former church will be turned into a war museum and education center in Mount Pocono.
MOUNT POCONO, Pa. — Posters showing what’s on the way line the inside of the former parish church of St. Mary of the Mount in Mount Pocono.
Members of American Legion Post 903 bought the church building over the summer. It’s been vacant for 10 years.
The plan is to use donations and grants to turn it into a museum dedicated to veterans.
“In here will be exhibits from various wars. All the wars, Revolutionary, World War I, World War II, the Iraqi war, Vietnam wall, we will have a replica of that here. We hope it will be a nice exhibit space for the Monroe County area,” said Albert Compoly, American Legion Post 903.
The Thomas Bowditch Veteran Education Center and Museum is named after the former American Legion Post 903 commander, who passed away in March of last year.
Bowditch was a staple in the veteran community. He maintained and added to the Veterans War Memorial near Tannersville.
Pennsylvania post has mission to ‘revive the community in the fact that freedom is not free’
Since being chartered 10 years ago, American Legion Post 903 in Mount Pocono, Pa., has been “ a gypsy post … living out of a van almost 10 years,” according to Post Commander Charles Hamberger. “We had stuff all over the place. I said, ‘It’s time to get out of the garages and back seats of everybody’s car and get ourselves a home.'”
So last summer, Post 903 bought the former St. Mary’s of the Mount Church and Rectory, with plans to turn the rectory into a post home that would include office space for other veterans service organizations (VSOs) and temporary housing for homeless veterans.
But the post’s original plans have since grown. The actual church portion of the property will eventually become The Thomas Bowditch Veteran Education Center and Museum, named for the post’s late commander who passed away in February 2020.
The plan is for the museum to house U.S military equipment from various war eras and conflicts, along with a replica of the wall from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. An exhibit space will be created to honor Monroe County veterans, along with a wall display listing the names of every conflict or war the United States has been involved in during its history.
L-R
Maj Tony DeStefano, Rick Defino, Deacon Ray Chimileski, Al Compoly, Paul Compoly
Second row
Ken Steffan, Steven from the Original Pocono Pub, Jim Blair
Ray and Barbara Perkowski both grew up with a desire to help those less fortunate, not knowing a time would come when they themselves would need help.
The Perkowskis met when both had lost their homes and were sleeping in their pickup trucks in the East Stroudsburg Walmart parking lot. The couple got married in 2013 and began leasing a Jackson Township home, but trouble with their landlord has now led to them being evicted and homeless once again.
“This is not going to stop us from doing what we’ve always done, which is helping other homeless people,” Barbara Perkowski said, sharing the van she, her husband and their dog are once again sleeping in at night.
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