Cambria American Legion Post 432

11/30/2025

Thursday. Dec 4 is Hospitality Night in Cambria and there will be all kinds of good things to eat, buy and have fun in our community. Things start around 3 and get busy as the night comes.

The Sons of the American Legion will be having a good time BBQing 700 free hot dogs to give away to anyone who wants one. They will be set up in front of the Chamber office on Main Street. Stop by for a hot dog on the house.

Rose is bartending that evening and she will try to keep the bar open a little later than normal for our members including the Sons who are doing the good will work giving hot dogs away.

11/29/2025

Most of you know that Dave Pierson has been managing the bar since the passing of Doug Davis. He has done a great job doing the routine duties as well as introducing some activities that have been pretty popular. We still have Burgers and Brew on Mondays, Taco Tuesday, and now we have nice Friday night programs like Poker, Trivia, Darts, and Entertainment with singing and instruments. The routine has worked well and the bar is doing better financially. It is a legal bar run under the rules of the state law and bartenders are registered and trained. All this being said, Dave and his wife will be leaving Cambria and Calif, in the spring and he will not be managing the bar after Dec 31, 2025. He will be around for a few months to break someone else in to the job. The job is a real job. Dave did it as a volunteer and that is available but it can also be a paid job. The Legion can afford to hire a manager for a part time job at a decent rate. We think it can be done with about 25 hours a week. If you have any interest in doing this we would love to talk to you. You have to be a member of the American Legion family and we want someone who is dependable and believes in the principles of the American Legion. The club is an important part of the American Legion in this community and we will support the right person. Please Call Commander Phil Kispersky if you have any interest 805 471 0455. Dave Pierson is also available to answer any questions about the job. 540 588 5465.

11/19/2025

As we enter the Christmas and Holiday season it is time to remember our departed Veterans in our two cemeteries. The American Legion family invites the community to the annual holiday remembrance of deceased veterans at the Bridge Street Cemetery on Saturday,December 6th at 9 am.
After a brief ceremony honoring our departed veterans, we will place holiday plaques on veteran graves. There are approximately 550 veteran graves in our two Cambria cemeteries, and all of them will be honored in this way.
They will stay on the graves until the last Saturday in December and will be collected and stored until next year.
Everyone from the Legion Family and the Community is invited to join in this program honoring our departed veterans. Please consider joining in this event.

11/15/2025

We celebrated Veterans Day and it was well attended and people seemed to really like the program. Mark Kniffen was our honored speaker. He has lived in the area for many years. He is a Vietnam Veteran who volunteered for the draft and went to Vietnam when he asked to go. He came home and became a middle school teacher and he did that for almost 4 decades and when he retired he still worked as a substitute teacher. He had a unique set of principles he followed that made him a great teacher. Young people from the Cambria 4H assisted in the presentation of service flags and presented small flags to all the veterans. John Taylor is our new Chaplain and give a nice invocation. Sgt. At Arms Karina Tiwana and our honor guard did a great job. Deborah Orde did a wonderful job singing the Star Spangled Banner and at the end, God Bless America that the crowd sang with her.

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11/09/2025

Cambria American Legion will be celebrating Veterans Day at 11 AM on November 11, 2025. The event will be indoors at the Veterans Memorial Hall at 1000 Main Street. Seating will be available starting at about 10:30 AM. The program will include a Pledge of Allegiance, the Star-Spangled Banner, and an inspirational message from our speaker Mark Kniffen. Mark was patriotic even as a young man during the Vietnam War. He volunteered for the draft while many were fleeing to Canada and getting deferments. He was a proud soldier in the US Army serving in Vietnam. He survived and returned to this area. He became a teacher and taught middle school for over 33 years.
Social-studies teacher Kniffen,was honored as California League of Middle Schools’ Region 8 Teacher of the Year in 2009-10. He was the Coast Unified teacher of the year in 1988-89 and 2006-07. The Vietnam veteran coordinated the middle-school’s History Day Competition. In 19 years, more than 50 Kniffen students won statewide, battling against larger schools and districts. Mark and his wife Gail raised their children in a Christian home. They now live in Cayucos.
This event is open to the public at no charge. Everyone is encouraged to come and give respect to our nation’s veterans, current and past. We especially want to invite all veterans in our community to come even if you are not American Legion members. At the conclusion of the program, we will have BBQ burgers and hot dogs for lunch. The Sons of the Legion and Legion Auxiliary will prepare the meal. A small donation of $5 is requested for lunch including a soft drink or water.

07/06/2025

We had a great Independence Day Picnic in the Park put on by Cambria Post 432. Lots of people came and it was a great day for us. Lots of food, drinks, fun, games, music. A good time was had by all.

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07/06/2025

06/27/2025

Here is what is happening at Shamel Park on July 4th. All are welcome

06/13/2025

July 4, 2025

Every 4th of July, for many years, we have had 2 raffles. One for $1000 cash where raffle tickets at $20 each and limited to 300. The second where tickets are $1 or 6 for $5 and the prize is a latest iPad. Usually the prizes are won locally. I can testify to that. Take a chance and you may win and it is a great way to support our Picnic In The Park even if you can't be there. Here is the link where you can enter on line. You can also buy them at the park on the 4th of July and you need not be there to win. Click here to buy the winning tickets.
https://legionpost432.com/raffle.htm

06/01/2025

This is a time to say goodbye to Dave and Jenn Ehlers. This will be before our Meetings for the Legion and Auxiliary on June 4. Everyone is welcome. They will be moving to North Dakota very soon.

05/28/2025

We had a wonderful Memorial Day ceremony in Cambria. The weather could not have been better. The winds we have been having for weeks turned off until the service was over. Our speaker was Joe Skoda who is retired Air Force, Past Department of CA Commander of the DAV and a high ranking Toastmaster. His speech was outstanding reminding us of all the contributions of our veterans and how important it is to teach our children about them and remember them always. Most of you will recognize a lot of the people. Dave Ehlers is our Commander and this may be his last time since he and Jennifer will soon be moving to North Dakota. We are so grateful for all they have done in our community. Korean War veteran Mel McCollough was able to come and do his job honoring the memories of POW/MIAs. He also presented his award to the Merchant of the Year, Cecilia Lomeli of Cambria Health Clinic who is also a leader in 4H. Two girls from the 4 H led our Pledge of Allegiance and read "In Flanders Field", reminding us why we wear poppies on Memorial Day. Deborah Goolkasian McHenry sang The Star Spangled Banner and at the end she had us all sing God Bless America. The Taylor Twins, John and Phil were there and John's grandson was there with his cowboy boots and straw western hat. Chuck McMillan, WWII Sailor, who still operates the only hardware store in Cambria, is our Chaplain and also joined John Ehlers and Pat Moreno is doing a Post Everlasting Ceremony. Joe Skoda and his wife Vanneca socialized with many of the people and seemed to enjoy the day with us. Auxiliary Member of the year Terry Salerno and Past Commander Terry Sheppard did our wreath presentation. Past Commander Jay Burbank told about repairs to his sculpture of the shadow of the MIA. He also unveiled the plaque honoring Commander Dave Ehlers on the Honor Rock. We owe a big thanks to Sergeant at Arms Karina Tiwana and her outstanding honor guard for the great job they did for us. After the event many enjoyed a BBQ at Post 432. God Bless America. Our post will continue to honor God and Country.

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05/20/2025

We will have a really nice program for Memorial Day this year. Plan for a beautiful ceremony and a really good speaker. Joseph Skoda is the California Commander of the Disabled Veterans of America (DAV). Joe is a retired Air Force officer who is always involved in something to help veterans. His wife Vanneca is also a retired Air Force officer who is also involved in helping veterans. He is also a high level member of the Toastmasters International. He is a paid up for life member of the American Legion and the DAV. The event will start at 11 AM in the Veterans Hall parking lot. Seating will be available.
We need some help to put this on. The Sons will have a BBQ assisted by the Auxiliary. Some of them will help us but we need some able bodied Legion Family members to help set up chairs outside at about 8:30 AM. You will have time to go home and pick up family that wants to come. We will need a little help putting them away afterward. Feel free to invite friends and family to this patriotic event that is part of our Americanism program. Remember that there is a $5 donation for the lunch that will include burgers and hotdogs and other stuff.