They held a farewell party for the Legion building at 268 High Street West the other night.
The Legion is moving a few blocks west to Fairford Street later this spring.
It was a neat, subdued event as members and guests dined and wined and socialized.
This site has been Branch No. 59’s home for almost 97 years, following the Legion’s first home on the property where the Grant Hall Hotel stands.
For all these years the place has been a meeting spot for veterans and families to visit, take part in activities with an organization raising funds to assist veterans and the community.
The Legion was once totally a veterans’ organization but has allowed non-veterans like YoursTruly to join in recent years.
My memories of the Royal Canadian Legion go back to the early 1960s when living in Alberta with an uncle and aunt who were supporters and enjoyed the camaraderie.
My belief then was that the Legion folks were a bunch of drunks. It was and still is a false perception.
Sure, there were and still are some heavy drinkers among members. You might be driven to drink if you had seen and experienced the horrific things veterans went through. Don’t judge until you wear their boots.
Nowadays, the Legion serves a whole lot of non-alcoholic or low alcohol drinks.
Since coming to Moose Jaw in 1965 I’ve discovered what the Legion is all about and met numerous fine people by reporting on events and attending events.
I remember one evening when the young girl just hired as a reporter was assigned to cover a Legion banquet and dance. That was fine, but our photographer was also covering the dance. Just peachy!
This was about the time when I was falling for this young reporter.
My photographer friend also had a thing for her. He even had his mother knit her one of those lovely heavy wool sweaters, called Cowichan, that curlers used to keep warm in unheated rinks.
I don’t know if I was jealous, or worried because he was a good dancer and I have two left feet.
Everything turned out just fine.
Many a time, my partner and I took part in events from socials to dances.
A watershed event occurred in 1974 when flooding poured over six feet of water in the basement lounge in minutes with little warning.
The Legion was a much busier place in those times. Often, I went there around 10 a.m. to pursue a news item.
The lounge was always full with plenty of visiting.
Gradually, many veteran members passed away. Twenty years ago, veterans in Canada were dying at the rate of 3,000 a month.
Where the Legion once raised $100,000 a year for the community plus money for the poppy fund to help veterans and their causes, that amount has declined.
The 1926 building needed so much upgrading that the building was sold, and the hunt for a new home started.
So many memories and so much local history reside in those brick walls. The old place will be missed.
Ron Walter can be reached at [email protected]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
