For more than a century now the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) has served the needs of military service members, veterans and their families. In 1914 the VFW Auxiliary was established to provide support to VFW members.
The local post is a familiar sight on Highway 49 North just south of Simpson Legion Lake. Ross-Williamson-Grubbs Post 9122 was formed in 1950 providing a gathering place for veterans to meet monthly, host social events and play Bingo.
Recently Post 9122 Auxiliary made history when Nancy Bishop was elected State President of the VFW Auxiliary. She is the first woman from Simpson County to hold the statewide position.
Bishop, 65, a self proclaimed “damn yankee!,” is originally from Ohio. She married her husband Ray in 1976. Together they returned to his stomping grounds, Simpson County, in 2003. Nancy knew the post offered Bingo and she wanted to play. “It was a Bingo night; I’ll never forget it. Esther was sitting at the back. I met her and we talked. She said, ‘Would you like to join the auxiliary?’ I said, ‘Let me talk to my husband.’”
That night was the beginning of a long standing friendship between Esther Dobershberger and Bishop. Dobershberger was born in Simpson County but her family moved to Oregon in 1943 when she was 8 years old. Esther decided to return to home in 1998.
After her first visit to the VFW post Bishop made one request of her husband – to join the VFW so she could in turn join the Auxiliary. His only query was why. “Because there’s a bunch of women and I’d love to do it!” Ray served in the US Marine Corps. Ray and Nancy joined in December 2003. Nancy found out later, however, that she could have joined on her own as her father had served in the US Army.
Esther had joined the VFW in November 1999 under her third husband’s military status. While there she met John Dobershberger, who was the Bingo caller. After three marriage proposals from John, Esther finally said yes. No announcement was made to their friends in the VFW. They only found out when she signed off on nightly Bingo forms with her new name.
When Bishop began attending Auxiliary meetings, Esther took Nancy under her wing. Nancy loves the auxiliary but to hear the two discuss the early days Esther had to drag Nancy into the arena of leadership. With encouragement from Esther, Nancy was elected as junior vice president. She then went on to hold the senior vice presidency.
The leadership offices of the Auxiliary include guard, conductress or conductor, chaplain, secretary-treasurer, junior vice president, senior vice president and president. In addition, the Auxiliary had once been women only but on August 21, 2015 by resolution to the by-laws men could now join the ranks.
Post 9122 is in VFW District 5 that serves not only Simpson County but also Hinds, Madison, Rankin, and Warren counties. Both women having served various offices have had to travel between posts. Now that Bishop will be serving in a statewide post, travel will become even more extensive. There are ten districts with a total of 78 posts overall.
One of Bishop’s big pushes as Auxiliary State President will be to increase membership to the VFW. She has noticed over the years that due to either relocation or death, membership has dropped but there has not been an increase to offset the decline. She believes people want to be involved. “We work in the community for the Veterans; it’s what we were organized for in the first place.”
Membership is open to family members whose father, mother, grandparents, or siblings served in the armed forces. Also step-parents are included if children have been raised to the age of 16. Proof of service must be provided by the Form DD214. Ross-Williamson-Grubbs Post 9122 Auxiliary holds a business meeting the second Tuesday of every month. In addition, Bingo is on the calendar weekly on Mondays beginning at 7 p.m. and running until 10 p.m. Prior to the corona virus outbreak, there were monthly family suppers and periodic dances. There are hopes to bring these events back in the future.
The statewide VFW Auxiliary officer induction ceremony will take place Sunday, June 5, in Tupelo, Mississippi.
