Lawrence veteran Albert Ballard salutes during Veterans Day ceremonies, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, at the American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post 14, 3408 W. Sixth St.

In the near-century since The American Legion was first chartered by Congress in 1919, almost every aspect of society has changed.

The local Dorsey-Liberty Post 14, 3408 W. Sixth St., is doing what it can to keep up.

Post Commander Jerome Hanson, a retired Army first sergeant, said the post’s website, legion14.org, was created about a year ago.

“That’s all new to us,” he said.

The post used to mail bulletins to about 500 members every two months. The most recent one is 10 pages, printed on the front and back.

Lawrence veteran Albert Ballard salutes during Veterans Day ceremonies Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, at the American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post 14, 3408 W. Sixth St.

“It’s gotten so it’s kind of expensive to do all that mailing,” Hanson said. “We said to people, ‘Well, if you still want this mailed to you, let us know.’ We only got five people that responded and said they want it mailed. … It’s a thing that we were late getting into, but people are changing.”

Having a website does have its perks, particularly when it comes to speeding up communication among members not only in the district but also statewide and nationwide.

“The good part about being on the website is we can change dates or anything like that if we have to,” Hanson said.

Taking the bimonthly newsletter online is just one way Dorsey-Liberty is “becoming a green post,” as Hanson put it. They’ve also started recycling anything they can, and Hanson said he hopes soon the city of Lawrence will extend curbside recycling beyond private residences to include businesses.

Also, Hanson said, it costs about $170 per day to keep the post open and heated or cooled to the right temperature. Currently its hours are 9 a.m. to noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and when no one is there, Hanson can control the thermostat from his computer at home to save energy.

The increasing population of women in military service is also changing the structure of the Legion.

A color guard fires a 21-gun salute during Veterans Day ceremonies held Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015 at the American Legion Dorsey-Liberty Post 14, 3408 W. Sixth St.

“The Auxiliary is for women whose husbands have been in the military, but now we’ve got a situation where we have women in the Legion,” Hanson said. “They have husbands. There’s no place for the husbands to come into the organization.”

He said the post is working with National Headquarters to come to a solution.

“We’ve said, ‘Well, let’s have an auxiliary for men, so they have a place to go and talk to other men that are married to veterans,'” he said. “It’s all these changes; they’re happening every day.”

The Legion has also become “the” bingo place in town, Hanson said. The post holds bingo games every Wednesday and Saturday. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. and games start at 6:45.

Despite all the changes, an age-old problem still exists. Hanson said many veterans don’t want to ask for help, or they feel as though they’ll take services away from someone else who needs them.

“The major job for the Legion is to take care of veterans, no matter how long they served,” Hanson said. “If they’ve served in the military and they need help, they can come to us and we’ll do the best we can.”

He said the Legion exists to help veterans get in touch with the right people, and he and his fellow post officers are happy to do so.

Members of the post meet starting at 5:30 on the first Tuesday of each month. For more information or to volunteer at the post, contact Jerome Hanson at commander@legion14.org.