The Turner Sommerheim Gesellschaft, or Turner Summer Home Society, was organized after the land at what is now 28404 Jefferson Avenue was purchased in 1910. Built in 1924 as a Turnverein, or German athletic club, the building also served as Interurban Station #54 on the Interurban Railway through Saint Clair Shores until the late 1920s. Membership in the Turner Sommerheim was limited to members of the Detroit Socialer Turnverein, and it was intended to benefit members and their families through rest, recreation, and healthy outdoor exercise and games. Its official opening took place on May 10, 1925, and the St. Clair Shores Business Men's Association, founded in 1928, met there weekly. In April 1934, Bill Randall, Joe Dendoven, Leo Delo, and Charlie Pasters began organizing a veterans organization to represent the growing village of St. Clair Shores. Their initial application was received by the VFW National on August 2, 1934, and the original charter application, based on the defunct Halfway Post 1146 of East Detroit, was submitted on August 21, 1934, under the name St. Clair Shores at Harper Ave. and Ten Mile Road. After Walter F. Bruce, the first member of the newly formed post, died in November 1934, the post was renamed Corporal Walter F. Bruce Post 1146 on February 2, 1935. In 1939 the post purchased the Turner Sommerheim building, remodeled it, and members met there for the first time in 1943. After World War II, younger returning veterans pressed for leadership roles, active participation in policy, and expansion. A new post home was conceived in 1954, construction began in 1956, and the present building opened in 1957 before being dedicated on Sunday, September 21, 1958. Corporal Walter F. Bruce VFW Post 1146 became an integral part of the history of St. Clair Shores through the service and dedication of its members.