Editor’s note: The Sunday Dispatch is celebrating its 70th anniversary. Information printed here first appeared in the March 2, 1947 edition and is reprinted here exactly as it first appeared.

Reports that the John D. Stark Post, American Legion has applied for a Cub Liquor License for their premises in West Pittston is being watched with anxiety by many West Side residents. An undercover movement is now underway which indicates that a strong protest is expected if the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board approves the application.

The John D. Stark Post is one of the largest Legion units in the area and its membership is growing rapidly with the enrollment of many World War II veterans. The home is located in the immediate vicinity of West Pittston High School, the First Methodist Church and its next door neighbor, the D.A.R Hall. It is also the headquarter for the Boy Scouts.

Several prominent residents in the borough indicated that the School Board, the First Methodist Church and the D.A.R. organization are expected to bring the matter into court, if necessary, to stop the granting of a Club Liquor License. The complainants point out, that matters are running smooth in West Pittston, especially around the Legion Home, without the sale of hard liquor which, they state, will turn the John D. Stark Post into a night club that will eventually be a detriment to the community. It has already been pointed out that Boy Scouts assembling in the same building will be given a bad example of character building, one of the fundamental principles of this fine youth organization.

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Legion circles indicate that the granting of a club liquor license will not interfere with the religious and educational institutions of the borough and has been proven by the courts that a bona fide private club must be granted a liquor license regardless of the nature of complaints against the organization.