Legion rejoices
Published Tuesday November 11th, 2008
SUSSEX - Just in time for it's most important season of the year, the Royal Canadian Legion, Branch 20, is back in full operation.
The 80-year-old Sussex institution celebrated the re-opening of a brighter, revamped legion Nov. 2 in the midst of its poppy campaign, preparations for Remembrance Day and scheduling the busy Christmas party season.
The Magnolia Avenue structure was heavily damaged Dec. 17 in an explosion and fire sparked by an unfortunate accident when a delivery truck snagged powerlines connected to the legion. The branch opted to use and improve its existing 1970 building rather than tear it down or relocate.
"This is a great day for the legion and for Sussex," branch president Ervin Ellis said in greeting legion and ladies auxiliary members and guests from throughout the province.
Among them were about a dozen members of RCL Branch 4 in Fredericton, who raised $3,500 in a March fundraiser for the Sussex branch.
"You're part of the party!" Ellis told his colleagues.
Mavis Cooper of the Legion NB Command stated the Sussex branch stands as an example for other legions of "what comrades can do when they work together."
The Royal Canadian Legion carries out important work not only with veterans but with young people, said Minister of Veterans Affairs Greg Thompson.
"Today is a testimony to your endurance. You didn't give up, as our veterans didn't give up," he said.
"You put your noses to the grindstone, you knew what you had to do and you just went out and did it."
Saint John East MLA Roly McIntyre was among the guests invited to speak at the event. At the request of long-time legion member Harley Geldart, McIntyre secured $200,000 in provincial government funding toward the legion rebuilding project.
"Sometimes when you renew, things get better," he said. "I think that's what's going to happen here." Sussex Councillor Stephen Campbell said the fire was not only a loss to the legion but to the town and region, as many important events are held there. The facility's absence was keenly felt in the months the branch operated from space it rented at the Sussex Mall, he said, commending the members for the important work they continued to do from their temporary location.
Following a ribbon-cutting ceremony to officially open the revamped facility, the branch's original 1928 legion charter and 1933 ladies auxiliary charter were brought in to take their rightful place on the legion wall. The charters were among the artifacts saved last winter from the burning legion by members of the Sussex Fire Department.
Other than the charters and the legion's bingo sign, the branch's freshly painted walls are bare as legion members want to take time to plan the best placement of the rescued artifacts, Ellis explained.
Several of the legion's guests came bearing gifts. Steve Baldwin of Wallace Funeral Home presented the legion with a specially commissioned plaque of a soldier and the motto "Lest We Forget."
Two large propellers from a Canadair CL-28 Argus plane were donated by the Royal Canadian Air Force with assistance from 250 Wing. Branch member and naval veteran Anthonie deHoog, who headed the legion's rebuild committee, donated a ship's wheel. A .303 Lee Enfield rifle used in the Second World War, donated to the legion in 1999 by the family of Ian McLean, was also put on display.
Since early spring, past branch president Doug Cosman has been interviewing branch members to create a small booklet on the history of Branch 20 to commemorate the re-opening. Along with factual history, the booklet contained anecdotal observations from several members to show what the legion has meant to people of the Sussex area.
Copies of the booklet, along with burgundy ribbons commemorating the grand opening and the legion's 80th anniversary, were available at the ceremony.
One of the branch's priorities is its ongoing membership drive. Ellis pointed out a military background isn't a requirement for membership.
"We need new members if we're to keep the legion going," he said. "Membership means participation."
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