MOOSE JAW — For the first time since 2019, Moose Jaw’s Royal Canadian Legion is hosting a veterans’ luncheon to honour active and retired members and thank them for their service.
The luncheon takes place on Thursday, Oct. 10 from 11:30 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m. at Branch No. 59 on High Street West. This free event is for veterans and their spouses or caregivers.
Veroba’s Restaurant will provide a full roast beef dinner, while guest speaker Maryse Carmichael, the city manager, will discuss the Royal Canadian Air Force’s 100th anniversary.
Carmichael is a 22-year veteran of the RCAF and logged more than 3,500 hours of flight time. She flew with the 431 Air Demonstration Squadron — the Snowbirds — and was the first female pilot in the world to fly on a military aerobatics team. She was also the first female commander of the team.
The retired lieutenant colonel was inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2022.
Organizer Sue Knox confirmed that this event is the first official luncheon the legion has held for veterans since the coronavirus pandemic broke out in March 2020. She noted that the committee has been contacting care homes, seniors’ homes and retirement villas to promote the luncheon to any veterans there.
Knox has learned that there is one 99-year-old Second World War veteran at a care home who is likely to attend. However, she noted with regret that 100-year-old Michael Mochoruk — whom the legion honoured last November with a Quilt of Valour and whom organizers wanted to invite — died in April.
Luncheon organizers expect about 100 people to attend the event, but to ensure there is enough food, they are asking veterans to confirm their attendance by Friday, Oct. 4, by calling the legion office at 306-692-5453 or Knox at 306-684-5593.
The legion is excited to host this event after a five-year absence, although it wanted to have it earlier in the year but experienced flooding in the back room and disability washroom in February and March, said Knox. However, the building manager has fixed the damages, so extra space and the toilet are available for the luncheon.
Also, organizers wanted to hold the event before Remembrance Week — which takes place from Nov. 5 to 11 — and before the weather deteriorated.
Meanwhile, the legion wants to return the luncheon to an annual event, although it wants to hold it in the spring or early summer so more people can attend.
Knox noted that next year’s luncheon could be in a new building, as the legion has been searching for a new venue for years — and may have found one.
She added that organizers want as many veterans to attend the luncheon as possible — “the more the merrier” — since bringing more people to the legion ensures it can continue to meet the community’s needs.
