Bridgetown Legion celebrates 80 Years of Service

By Geoffrey Agombar

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

“The members of the Bridgetown Branch have a justifiable pride in their fifty years of individual and collective service and happy comradeship.” So states a pamphlet celebrating the history of Bridgetown Branch No. 33 Royal Canadian Legion from 1928-1978, and with ever so slight a modification, the same sentence would stand today as the Branch No. 33 marks its 80th anniversary.

Founded March 28, 1928, Bridgetown Branch No. 33 was born just three years after the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League was formed out of the Great War Veterans’ Association. Today, of course, it is known as the Royal Canadian Legion.

Beginning with 14 founding members, eight decades later the Bridgetown Branch counts 14 life members, 55 members, 80 associate members and 27 affiliate members.

Saturday evening, October 25, members and guests held a cocktail and supper to celebrate 80 years of service to veterans and the community, offer thanks to those who have supported the Legion throughout the decades, and above all remember the sacrifice of fallen comrades.

Great thanks were extended to the Ladies Auxiliary for their work and fundraising support, which has contributed in excess of $120,000 to the branch since receiving its charter in 1948.

The Bridgetown Memorial Community Centre has been the home of Branch No. 33 and a mainstay in the community life since 1950. The building was originally an army barracks in Windsor, purchased from the federal government for the sum of $1,448, dismantled and transported to Bridgetown where it was reconstructed by volunteer labour in 1949-50 under the direction of Ray Goodwin (father of current treasurer-secretary Bill Goodwin).

In this fact, residents may be reminded once again of the Legion members’ selfless service to their community, for as the 1978 pamphlet asks, “Can you imagine a fisherman from Hampton or St. Croix Cove, a farmer from Clarence, Belleisle, Centrelea or Paradise, a lumberman from Dalhousie, etc., etc., finding time in those days to take part in Legion work? Then try to picture a banker, a merchant, a minister, a doctor, etc., etc., who had never done manual labour, never driven a nail or sawed off a board.” Yet another example of the tireless devotion to their community and the common good that the Legionnaires have never failed to extend, and from which we continue to benefit to today.

The mission of the Royal Canadian Legion is primarily to serve the needs of servicemen and servicewomen, particularly with matters of social, financial, and bureaucratic concern, as well as to ensure remembrance of the sacrifices they have made, most visibly through Remembrance Day services and poppy distribution.

Originally, membership in the Royal Canadian Legion was reserved to members of the armed forces. This is no longer the case. Today affiliate membership is open to the public, regardless of service or relationship to someone who has served.

Through the years Branch No. 33 has played host to countless events and services, from dances and variety shows, to a library or a doctor’s office, to bingo nights and seniors’ care clinics, to elections polling stations and much more.

Current regular events include weekly dart and pool tournaments, as well as No Fuss Fridays open to anyone who would enjoy a home cooked meal for just $8 to end the week.

For information, call 665-2820, or contact the Ladies Auxiliary at 665-2895.