The real OGs of West Hartford: ld Guard serves up tradition and community service with a fresh twist of modern energy

Written by Tracey Weiss

Photography by Tracey Weiss and submitted

Dedication and being present are the secret to the success of the Old Guard.

“We are what we need to be. We aren’t your grandfather’s club. We are right now,” said Don Kauke, past-president and head of communications for the organization.

Now, in its 60^th year, the Old Guard, the fellowship of retired or semi-retired men enjoys timely topics at weekly speaker meetings, participation in community service projects, and the camaraderie amongst the members.

The Old Guard “is an opportunity, not an obligation,” Kauke added.

Over 100 members and guests typically attend weekly Old Guard meetings from September through May. Meetings are held Tuesday mornings at Westminster Presbyterian Church in West Hartford.

“If someone is on the edge (about joining), we remind them that there are no requirements when you join,” said Clem Sayers, who is the immediate past president. “Once someone comes to a meeting, they join. It gives you the opportunity to get closer to fellow members and when you get involved, you get to know someone.”

“To Clem’s point, when we volunteered in Bloomfield at Foodshare, we worked side by side. I never knew him until that day,” said Jeff Lee. He, too, is a past president.

“Years ago, when you retired, you shrunk into a corner,” Lee continued. “That is not who we are. Our oldest member is 93.

Old Guard leaders lower the time capsule at Fernridge Park tree planting ceremony in celebration of their first 50 years. The accompanying stone suggests retrieving the contents in the year 2066.

“It’s also a great place for new people to come without social or professional links. Ninety-nine percent of the guys come because they want to hear a speaker and meet friends.”

“There’s a lot of pride involved with being a member,” Sayers said.

Meetings are held every Tuesday at Westminster Presbyterian Church at 10:30am and usually draw 100 men or more, which is 50-60% of the membership. They “jam a lot into one hour,” said Kauke, starting with the Pledge of Allegiance, acknowledgments of birthdays and those who have passed. The featured speaker of the week gets 30 minutes. 

Some of the speakers they’ve had, even just in the last year, include CT Governor Ned Lamont and Connecticut State Comptroller Sean Scanlon, former Hartford Courant sports reporter Don Amore, University of Hartford President Larry Ward, Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam, Kevin Rennie and more.  

“I was invited to speak, and I was so impressed I joined the next month,” Lee said.

“I have attended 99% of the meetings over the last 15 years and never regretted attending one,” Kauke added.

Members of the Old Guard. Clockwise, from top left: Don Kauke, Jeff, Bob, Clem.

Some of the members like to follow up the meeting with an informal lunch, often at the Back Nine Tavern at Stanley Golf Course in New Britain, or Beachland Tavern or Fernwood Restaurant in town.

“The inspiration doesn’t end when the meeting ends,” Lee said.

Even though Kauke said “there’s no obligation to do anything, unless you want to,” so many members of the Old Guard enjoy doing community service.

“We enjoy helping others, and lots of opportunities to do so,” said Bob Cave. He is the current president of the Old Guard. Each president serves a one-year term.

Food insecurity is a priority among the OGs. According to an article by Kauke, “A team of about a dozen men travel to FoodShare of Connecticut headquarters in Wallingford every month to sort thousands of pounds of groceries, donated by supermarkets, for distribution to individuals. Old Guard members donated almost $44,000 after consideration of matching grants and with the purchasing power of FoodShare, the food value is increased tenfold! Old Guard members donation food value totaled over $237,000 in 2025-2026!

“Old Guard members volunteer serving meals at Loaves and Fishes and the House of Bread; contribute food to the West Hartford Food Bank; and West Hartford Youth Backpack program, for youths who receive food that covers weekend meals when school cafeteria meals are not available.” Rhon Ernest Jones is the chair of Loaves and Fishes; Mike Dore, Mike Sheehan and Dave Sheehan oversee the Foodshare teams; and Ted Ruby runs the backpack program.

Another food distribution program that Old Guard members have staffed since its founding is Meals on Wheels. The committee is headed up by Bob Schaefer. “Main meals for seven days are home-delivered by pairs of 40 Old Guard members throughout the year,” Richter, Kauke wrote in his article.

The West Hartford Town Council recognized the contributions of the Old Guard with a Proclamation in 2024. Mayor Shari Cantor presents the document to all the then-living past presidents. (Past President Don Kauke

The Old Guard also helps the Salvation Army at holiday time, teams up to help on a Habitat for Humanity project, and more.

In addition, proceeds from the annual Swing for the Kids Annual Golf Tournament raises thousands each year for the YMCA. The 2025 tournament generated a gift of $15,555 to provide youth scholarships to YMCA summer camp. In addition to the golf tournament, membership is the other source of income for the Old Guard; membership dues are $80 annually.

Like many organizations, the pandemic greatly affected the structure of the Old Guard.

Membership went from 300 to 200. The office of the West Hartford YMCA was closed for financial reasons and the support that the staff had provided to members of the Old Guard was discontinued.

Yearend Annual luncheon was held at the Pond House at Elizabeth Park and featured a presentation by University of Connecticut President Radenka Maric and University Trustee Shari Cantor on the “Present and Future of the University of Connecticut.”

It didn’t stop the OGs, though. With public meetings banned, then President Ron Van Winkle, former town manager of West Hartford, set Zoom up for members to continue meeting. Finances were restructured and the bylaws were modified.

By 2021, things started to improve. In-person programming resumed and a website, oldguardct.org, was built.

Membership is up again and the group continues to thrive.

In 2024, the West Hartford Town Council recognized the educational, fellowship and civic contributions of the Old Guard to the community with an official Proclamation, presented by West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor.

The Old Guard celebrated its first fifty years by planting an oak tree and time capsule at Fernridge Park in West Hartford. “A former member who had a lot of friends in construction helped” Lee said. “It’s air vacuumed three times and sealed twice so it won’t get wet. There’s a lot of printed matter in there.”

For Kauke, belonging to the Old Guard is an integral part of his life. He referenced a book, “Matter,” that had an influence on his mindset.

To matter is important “in the context of each of us mattering to another, or what we do mattering to ourselves or another,” he said. “In a sense it is the importance of making a difference,” and that the opportunities provided by the structure of our club” really do matter. WHL