The APSLEY VOICE |
Previous
Next Page 2
The APSLEY VOICE |
|
“When Johnny comes
marching home again, Hooray! Hooray! We'll give him a hearty welcome
then, Hooray! Hooray!” Well, the boys did come home and we did give
them a welcome, but for many of those lads and lassies the home they came
to was not the same. They were older, they had seen and experienced
things that no young person should ever have to see and, what’s more, they
missed the camaraderie – the bond developed with the other young people they
had spent those grueling times with. They came back to families they didn't
know and left behind families they would never see again.
A few of the veterans in Apsley belonged to Legions in other towns. They began to meet in buildings in Apsley and eventually formed their own branch. Branch # 381 was given their charter on February 8th, 1946. The first official meetings were held in the old town hall where the Royal Bank now sits; later, they met in the Apsley Hotel. Eventually, they planned to have their own building. Earl Trotter, one of the charter members, donated the land for the new branch. The building site was across the road from a dance hall owned by Clarence McCormack. Dances were held upstairs in the building on Saturday nights; the ground level was a bakery and blacksmith shop. Mr. McCormack wanted to take this building down. He approached the newly formed legion and the building was then hauled across the road and used until rebuilding preparations were complete. Funding was required before the building of the Legion could commence. Now, the women came forward to support their men, as women are wont to do. The Ladies Auxiliary received their charter on Oct. 28th, 1947 and immediately got busy. Bessie Foster, one of the charter members, reported that the hotel allowed the ladies to open a hot dog stand on the hotel verandah. ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
|
Another interesting offer came through Keith Brown, a car dealer from Peterborough, who made a car available at cost price. The car was driven from town to town and raffled off to raise a lot of money. Bessie said she had a great time helping with the raffle. Eventually, the time came for the building to be raised. A Building Bee was formed and volunteers completed the demolishing of the old dance hall and the raising of the new legion, which was the usual practice in those days. So, when you dance at the Legion today, you may be dancing on the same floor where they danced above that old blacksmith shop. Originally, the Legion was an organization that was primarily concerned with veterans’ affairs. In 1955, the Legion expanded its mandate to include involvement in local community services. The Legion is a Non-Smoking Environment. 
Ottawa's War Memorial
What is it that your Legion supports today?
|
Links:
Previous
Next Page 2
Other Pages in The Apsley Voice for October / November 2005 ...