AUGUSTA — The Augusta American Legion Rodeo brings hundreds of people to the small town of Augusta for the weekend, and while you might expect the event to be chaotic, it's actually a well-oiled machine thanks to the American Legion Auxiliary.
Whether you’re at the Augusta Rodeo to watch cattle or catch up with friends, you need food, and that is provided by the Auxiliary members.
“We do the concessions, they do the rodeo,” explained Barbara Arps, the President of the American Legion Auxiliary in Augusta.
While feeding hundreds of people behind the rodeo stands might not sound like glamorous work, women of the Auxiliary keep coming back year after year to help out.
Tina Freeman has been working at the rodeo since 1979, and appreciates the small building she gets to work out of.
“Before we’d fry hamburgers outside and we had fountain pop,” Freeman said, “It’s a lot easier now with the grill and the canned pop.”
The Auxiliary uses the rodeo to raise money to give back to the town of Augusta in any way it is needed.
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“This is one of our main fundraisers, and it supports a lot of our community service programs,” Freeman said.
“We do give to the youth of the community, we do a lot of community things,” Arps said, “Our money stays mostly in the community.”
The community invites and accepts hundreds of visitors every year for the rodeo, and that simply cannot be done without the people of Augusta doing what they can to support each other.
“You have to have a community to have… you have people, but you have to have a community,” Arps said, “Everybody gets along…one hand washes the other.”
The auxiliary meets every second Wednesday of the month at 7pm in Legion Hall in Augusta, MT. In order to become a member, you must have a family member serving.
