Four Mount Prospect organizations to host joint open house

What began as a "welcome home" party of sorts has morphed into a spring open house for the community to learn about four Mount Prospect service organizations and what they do.

The open house will be held from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, April 24, at Mount Prospect Moose Lodge #660, 601 N. Main St.

In addition to the Moose, other participating organizations are the Lions Club, Mount Prospect Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1337 and Mount Prospect American Legion Post 525.

The idea for an open house began to take shape in December when VFW Post 1337 held its first meeting in decades back at the Moose Lodge. The VFW actually built the lodge in the early 1950s, then sold it to the Moose about 30 years later.

For many years, both the Mount Prospect VFW and the Mount Prospect American Legion posts held their monthly meetings in Arlington Heights at the American Legion there. Now both veterans groups are back in town and meeting at the Moose Lodge.

"This is amazing, because we, the VFW, owned that building at one time," Post 1337 Comdr. Les Durov said. "I was thinking on how to repay (the lodge) for their generosity."

Durov proposed an open house as a way to let people in Mount Prospect know about Mooseheart Charities and the work both organizations do for the community. He then sought to expand it by inviting the American Legion and Lions Club to participate.

"We have all four organizations supporting the village, the schools and the churches in the village," Durov said. "We are working together to show what we do as groups for the people of Mount Prospect."

Neighbors who are interested in learning more about service organizations in their town are invited to stop by during the open house. Masks are required and social distancing will be observed.