Bigfork Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4042 has embarked on an expansion project that involves purchasing the Masonic Lodge in Bigfork and transforming it into a restaurant and bar, recreational facility and community center for other organizations.

The VFW has operated its veterans center in a modest, retrofitted residential home on a hill along Montana 35 since 1999, but the facility is outdated, small and the parking is “horrible,” Post Commander Ed Byrne said.

A lot of the older veterans won’t come, especially during the winter months, because the ice makes it hazardous, he added. The post has put that building, located at 7950 Montana 35, up for sale and has an agreement to purchase the 5,000-square-foot Masonic Lodge facility located across from Harvest Foods, just down the road at 8098 Montana 35.

Byrne said the VFW plans to remodel the Masonic Lodge to create a large conference room that would accommodate several organizations, including the VFW Auxiliary, Eastern Star, Masons and other groups. A separate 100-seat restaurant and bar equipped with pool tables, shuffle board and dart boards are planned.

“There’s a large area outside and eventually we will have decks,” Byrne said.

The Bigfork Farmers Market is staged twice weekly at the Masonic Lodge and would continue to use that space, he added.

In an effort to attract younger veterans, the post has plans to include an internet cafe and coffee bar, as well as video games. Older veterans are apt to want their coffee black, but younger generations want their cappuccinos and lattes, Byrne said.

Leroy Kelly, the last charter member of the post established in 1965, emphasized the post’s outreach to younger veterans.

“We’re trying to get younger people,” he said.

Byrne added, “All veterans are welcome, anyone who has served in the military, and community members are welcome, too.”

The post currently has 105 members, but Byrne hopes the expansion project will increase the membership.

The VFW will pay the mortgage over 20 years using income from its restaurant, bar and casino gaming machines, but fundraising for the remodeling is now in full force. Byrne said the post hopes to raise $300,000 for the interior and exterior remodeling to bring the 40-year-old building up to code and Americans With Disabilities Act compliance.

Members have three big fundraisers annually — fireworks stands for New Year’s and Independence Day and the Rumble in the Bay car show over Labor Day weekend. The lion’s share of those proceeds is put back into the community, though, Byrne said.

The community already has stepped up to help with the project. Kootenai Lodge donated an $80,000 stainless-steel kitchen that is in storage right now. Jack Paulson, “a good friend of the VFW,” Byrne said, has donated a $31,500 pool table. Another pool table made of Italian marble has been donated by a Ferndale resident, and the Helena VFW has donated a new heating, air-conditioning and ventilation system for the new veterans center. Sliters Building Supply is discounting the needed building materials and LHC is creating additional parking at the new center.

Montana’s congressional delegation also will be involved. Bill Hilshey, veterans affairs representative for Sen. Steve Daines, R-Montana, is coming to Bigfork next week to talk with post officers about possible grant funding for the project.

Byrne said he hopes the interior work can get started in about six weeks. Once the building is gutted, the VFW will invite the community to a potluck to get feedback about how they’d like to see the facility developed.

“People have good ideas,” Byrne said. “We want inclusion.”

Anyone wanting to make a donation can send a check to Bigfork Veterans Center, P.O. Box 427, Bigfork, MT 59911. For more information call the veterans center at 406-837-0666 or email Bryne at byrne.ej@reagan.com.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.