GLENCOE — The future is looking bright for the Glencoe American Legion.

Two years ago, flames engulfed the legion building, leaving not only its members but the entire community of Glencoe in mourning. After fundraising in the wake of the fire, ground was broken for the future legion facility that is to be built on the same property as the prior location.

“We finally broke ground to get our septic system going for our new building. We hope to break ground pretty soon on a foundation, but we’re still up in the air about plans,” Glencoe American Legion Auxiliary Secretary Marissa Eikleberry said. “We’re leaning more towards a barndominium kind of thing, as long as it will go through state inspection and things like that. But a sticks and stones building would cost us a lot more, so we’re trying to keep it within our cost limit. We still need to get some more money flowing to get the rest of it up and going.”

She added that the steel building on a concrete slab for its foundation will come in handy because the legion is in a flood zone, so it’s required to be built at a certain height.

Eilkberry added that since the fire, the legion has raised over $40,000 but believes at least $100,000 will be needed to complete the structure.

To continue raising money, Glencoe Township Trustee Greg Clark said that the legion will be hosting a steak fry fundraiser on July 12 at the Glencoe Senior Center. He said that tickets will be $25 and believes that it will be a good way to raise money for the cause.

“​​This is the only thing (facility) the community has for funerals, dinners, wedding receptions, birthday parties, activities for the kids, cake walks, Halloween parties and Easter parties. We have the Easter Bunny come down here every year and have Santa Claus here. So basically we try to provide for the community,” Clark said.

Flushing American Legion First Vice Commander Patrick Varner and his legion assisted the fund Wednesday by presenting the Glencoe legion with a check for $250.

“We’re presenting a check today to the Glencoe American Legion, which is actually my hometown. And we hope to get them back on their feet and get them up and running and help support our veterans,” Varner said.

He added that the check stemmed from a collection of money donated by the Flushing legion’s members, from electronic gambling machines and from past events it hosted.

“As an American Legion, we try to help everybody we can, and we do a lot for the veterans in our area,” Varner said.

Eikleberry added that her parents and grandparents were members of the Glencoe legion and helped build the legion up throughout their lifetime.

“I was born and raised in Glencoe, and it’s always been a gathering place for all of our community day activities,” she said.

Eikleberry added that she is hopeful that the building will be complete in the next calendar year, but she said it is dependent on the funds the legion can raise.