Wooden Drink Tokens

A Cold Beer, a Wooden Token and a Post 500 Tradition

Longtime Post 500 members may remember these. For many years, wooden drink tokens were part of everyday life around the Post. One way members received them was when buying a bucket of beer. Maybe you bought a bucket with friends, the evening was winding down, and there were still two unopened beers left. Rather than drink them just because they were there, you could return the unopened beers to the bartender and receive two wooden drink tokens. Drop them in your pocket and the drinks were waiting for another day. The tokens were also an easy way to buy someone else a drink. Hand over a token and pass along a little Post 500 camaraderie. The wooden tokens remained part of Post life right up until the COVID era. Today, the originals have become little pieces of Post 500 history. But maybe the tradition doesn't have to be history. Should We Bring It Back? We're curious what our members think. What if Post 500 brought back the drink-token tradition for a new generation? Maybe not wooden nickels this time. Perhaps a modern Post 500 poker-chip-style token that you could keep in your pocket, save for another visit, or use to buy a friend a drink. Would you like to see this Post 500 tradition make a comeback? And if you remember using the old wooden tokens, we'd really like to hear your stories about them.

Look What Steve Dug Up!

๏ปฟ

No, 2nd Vice Commander Steve Sabo wasn't digging under the parking lot looking for that buried Ford. But he did uncover something pretty cool from Post 500's past; a collection of original wooden drink tokens that were once a familiar sight around the Club Room. Take a look at these little pieces of Post 500 history, learn how they were used, and then help us answer an important question: Should we bring this old tradition back with a modern twist?

A Little Piece of 1977

Would You Have Bought a Ticket?

Sometimes an old piece of paper can take you right back to another era. We recently uncovered a Speedway Post 500 raffle ticket from 1977 and for a $1.00 donation, you had a chance to win: ๐Ÿ•ฐ๏ธ 1st Prize โ€” 6-Foot Grandfather Clock ๐Ÿ“บ 2nd Prize โ€” 19" Zenith Color TV ๐Ÿ“ป 3rd Prize โ€” 40-Channel CB Radio Not a bad prize list for a buck! The drawing was held October 1, 1977, right here at Speedway Post 500. There's Just One Problem... We don't know who won. Were you a member in 1977? Do you remember the raffle? Did someone in your family win one of these prizes? And most importantly... Does somebody still have that 6-foot grandfather clock sitting in their living room? ๐Ÿ˜‚ If you remember this raffle or know what happened to any of the prizes, we'd love to hear the story.

What Else Is Out There?

That's Where You Come In

The more we've looked into the history of Post 500, the more we've realized something: We've probably only scratched the surface.
  • Somewhere there may be photographs of the original Post Home
  • Pictures of the new Georgetown Road building under construction
  • Photos from race weekends decades ago
  • Pictures of the old Ford
  • Old Color Guard photographs
  • Or any other old pictures
And perhaps most importantly... stories!! Stories that were never written down because everyone at the time already knew them. Those are the stories we don't want to lose.

Help Us Preserve Our History

Every Story Matters

The history you've read here survived because someone cared enough to save it. Someone kept the meeting minutes. Someone held onto an old raffle ticket. Someone tossed a wooden drink token into a drawer instead of throwing it away. Someone took a photograph that, decades later, may be the only record we have of that moment. Now we'd like your help finding the rest of The Story of Post 500. What Might You Have? Maybe tucked away in a closet, drawer, garage or old photo album you have: ๐Ÿ“ท Old Post 500 photographs โ€” members, events, parties or the old Post Home ๐Ÿ Race Weekend memories โ€” parking, camping, Indy 500 activities or pictures from years gone by ๐ŸŽŸ๏ธ Post memorabilia โ€” raffle tickets, drink tokens, event flyers, programs or awards ๐Ÿ“œ Old documents โ€” newsletters, membership cards, meeting materials or other Post records ๐Ÿ‘จโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€๐Ÿ‘งโ€๐Ÿ‘ฆ Family history โ€” photographs or keepsakes from parents or grandparents who belonged to Post 500 ๐Ÿ’ฌStories and memories โ€” funny Club Room stories, longtime traditions, memorable members or Commanders, or something that happened during race weekend โ“ Names and missing details โ€” recognize someone in one of our old photographs? Know when it was taken or what was happening? Please tell us! Help Us Build the Story You don't have to give up an original piece of memorabilia. A photograph or scanned copy may be all we need to preserve it and share its story with future generations. And don't think your memory is too small to matter. You may remember something about Post 500 that no one else does. Send your photographs, memorabilia, documents, stories or information to: ๐Ÿ“ง americanlegionpost500@gmail.com Together, we can continue building The Story of Post 500 โ€” one photograph, one artifact and one memory at a time.
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American Legion Post 500

Located just across from Indianapolis Motor Speedway Gate 5B, Speedway American Legion Post 500 welcomes veterans, families, race fans, and our neighbors throughout the community. Whether you're stopping in for dinner, attending an event, exploring membership, or planning your next race weekend, we look forward to seeing you.
1926 Georgetown Road Speedway IN 46224 US
americanlegionpost500@gmail.com
317-244-9625