Royal Canadian Legion Chatsworth
|
|
HISTORY OF CHATSWORTH LEGION BRANCH #464
Formal education was introduced to the Chatsworth community in 1850. Parents paid 1 shilling and 6 pence, in cash or work, per
month per child attending school. Every third child in each family was admitted free. The first teacher was William Buchanan and he was paid $60.00 annually.
In 1873 the Chatsworth school, U.S.S. No 1 was erected on a property in Chatsworth; known today as 339 Garafraxa St., Chatsworth. Prior to the school being built
there is no record of where the formal teachings took place. Possibly; someone’s home, the town hall or the church.
On November 21, 1947, J. C. Bell and RJ. McGillivray, Trustees of Branch number 464 of British Empire League; purchased the
Chatsworth school, U.S.S. No 1 from Elizabeth J. White, of the Village of Chatsworth of the County of Grey, for an amount of $500.00. Hence, Branch #464 was
established in the old school house.
March 10, 1954, the Trustees of Branch number 464 purchased an additional parcel of land from Charles Finn, of the Village
of Chatsworth, in the County of Grey, Gentleman and unmarried man; for an amount of $200.00. The indenture does not state who the Trustees representing Branch
number 464 were.
September 20, 1973, a third parcel of land was purchased from L.B. Murray McKay of the Village of Chatsworth, Gentleman for
the amount of $1.00. Gordon Lang, Esquire and L.B. Murray McKay, Esquire, both of the Village of Chatsworth in the County of Grey, Trustees for and on behalf
of Branch 464 of the Royal Canadian Legion were the representative for Branch 464.
As curiosity has it, I wondered how Murray McKay acquired this strip of land and why he transferred it to the Legion for $1.00.
Well, here is how the story goes. A bachelor man named Tom, owned and lived in a small house on this property. He didn’t socialize much but took great pleasure
watching the festivities and dances through the Legion windows. One day it was decided to board up the Legion windows; probably to install dart boards on the
newly created wall. Watching through the windows, being one of the things Tom enjoyed, he was very disturbed. Tom vowed that he would never sell his property
to the Legion. So, when he passed, he left the property to a lady (name unknown) in the village, who assisted him with his daily needs. Murray must have purchased
it, with the intention of transferring it to the Legion. How much Murray paid for the property is unknown?
With the execution of three indentures over a period of 27 years; Branch #464 was purchased for a total of $701.00.
In subsequent years the building was enlarged and you now see the Chatsworth Legion as we know it today.
The first meeting of Chatsworth Royal Canadian Legion Branch 464 has held on January 3, 1947. The meeting was opened with Zone
Commander Stewart Douglas chairing and Zone Secretary Vernon Sprung assisting. Twenty-three applications were presented for membership and accepted.
The branch members initiated at that first meeting were:
|
W.H. Campbell
|
J.C. Bell
|
Stewart Douglas
|
J.H. Macdonald
|
|
J.R. McGillivary
|
Evart Woods
|
Mel McFarlane
|
G.C. Macdonald
|
|
Edgar Feschke
|
Ken Kay
|
Jim Hanna
|
George McCallum
|
|
Allan Keeling
|
Mac Pringle
|
J.D. Gillies
|
J.R. Galbraith
|
|
Jack Jordison
|
Oliver Jackson
|
Cyril Wilson
|
Sydney Jackson
|
|
Lloyd McKay
|
Roy Richardson
|
Elmer Shouldice
|
Elections were held and the first executive was:
|
President
|
W.H. Campbell
|
|
1st Vice President
|
J.C. Bell
|
|
Secretary
|
J.H. Macdonald
|
|
Treasurer
|
H.R. McGillivary (by acclamation)
|
|
4 Members of Executive
|
Evart Woods
|
|
Mel McFarlane
|
|
Elmer Shouldice
|
|
Jack Jordison
|
The branch received its Charter on March 26, 1947.
The members listed on the Charter are:
|
W.H. Campbell
|
J.C. Bell
|
J.H. Macdonald
|
J.R. McGillivary
|
|
M. McFarlane
|
J.W. Jordison
|
E. Shouldice
|
E. Woods
|
|
O. Jackson
|
J.H. Hopkins
|
A. Keeling
|
C. Wilson
|
|
O. Pringle
|
M. Pringle
|
K. Kay
|
A. Leucke
|
|
J.R. Hanna
|
E. Feschke
|
H. Pringle
|
R. Moore
|
The first Minutes Book of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #464 is still displayed in the Memorabilia Cabinet in the Club Room
of the Branch.
Not all members’ names made the Charter due to there not being enough room. Howard Donavan always told us; “they put all the names in
a hat and those drawn got their name on the charter”.
April 22, 1949 ~ The first meeting of The Ladies Auxiliary, Branch 464 was held. There were 30 members initiated and 11 officers
elected and installed. The first President was Lillian Hunter and the first Secretary was Marg Hopkins.
October 3, 1949 ~ Alex Lueck, Branch President, presented the Ladies Auxiliary Charter to Lillian Hunter, President of the
Ladies Auxiliary. The Ladies Auxiliary Charter, dated June 14,1949 was issued by the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Services League under the
jurisdiction of Ontario Command of the Canadian Legion and was subject to the Constitution, Bylaws, Rules and Regulations of the Canadian Legion.
The Charter members of the Ladies Auxiliary Branch 464 were as follows:
|
L. Hunter
|
L. Foster
|
L. Woods
|
M. Hopkins
|
|
I. Jackson
|
G. Luec
|
J. Minorgan
|
A. Pringle
|
|
G. MacDonald
|
H. Edmunds
|
M. Shouldice
|
E. Mountain
|
|
E. McGillivray
|
R. Bell
|
A. Jordeson
|
F. Hopkins
|
|
F. McFarlane
|
M. Richardson |
On April 11, 1994 the Ladies Auxiliary of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch was issued a new Charter by the
Dominion Command of the Royal Canadian Legion.
December 1966 ~ The hall renovation was completed and the hall was re-opened.
1981 ~ An addition was built on the front of the building increasing the size of the club room, adding a men’s and ladies’ wash
room, foyer, coat room and a new kitchen.
1981 ~ The kitchen was renovated.
1987 ~ Sixty members marched from the Legion to the Cenotaph to mark the Branch’s 40th Anniversary. Ontario Legion
President Bill Smith and Vice-President Ed. Dupon lead the parade. Twenty-eight members in the colour party represented several branches in the area. Ed.
Dupon laid a wreath at the cenotaph. Fellowship followed at the branch.
1998 ~ A new commercial gas stove was purchased by the Branch Veterans for the kitchen. Ken Dixon was the veteran who
went around to ONLY THE WW Veterans and asked each Veteran for $125.00. A total of approximately $2,125.00 was donated. There were about 17 Veterans and most of
them were more than happy to contribute to the purchase of the stove. The Ladies Auxiliary made up the difference, which wasn’t a whole lot.
March 26, 1997 ~ The Branch celebrated their 50th Anniversary with serving 50 cent drinks from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. that day.
Along with lots of comradeship, food and laughter.
June 14,1997 ~ the Branch held a 50th Anniversary Parade from the legion to the cenotaph and back followed by a luncheon and
dance. Entertainment was by Home Brew. Other branches, Zone and District were invited to attend.
2001 ~ There was new carpet installed in the bar room and on the stage. New flooring was put in the kitchen,
all bathrooms and behind the bar. All work was completed by Durrer Carpets, Hanover.
2005 ~ The patio was added. The Ladies Auxiliary purchased the lattice for the patio.
2012 ~ The walk-in bar cooler was re-constructed to facilitate a shelved room at the entrance of the cooler for the convenience of storing products
and supplies. A door was installed to separate the storage area from the cooler. Insulating was done by Dave Harrison, Harrison Interiors & Insulation Inc.
2014 ~ The Legion applied for and received an Ontario Trillium Grant to install an automatic wheel chair accessible entrance
door, replace 7 windows and upgrade the heating in the kitchen by removing an electric heater and running a line from our existing furnace to a new radiator. Our
branch was approved in July 2014 and a cheque from OTF was received on August 5, 2014 in the amount of $13,800.00. Work commenced immediately with a completion
date set not to exceed one year. The majority of the work was completed using in-kind-hours. The labour was donated by Larry Woods, owner and operator of Xtreme
Heat and members of the Branch.
2017 ~ The barbeque shed was constructed in the fall of 2017 with donations of material from John Bates Roofing, Pilkington Trusses
and Alan Burgess General Contracting.
March 26, 2017 ~ The branch celebrated their 70th Anniversary. Free hamburgers, hotdogs and ice cream was served. The
branch set up activities for the children; fish pond, golf and craft tables. The Ladies’ Auxiliary set up a bouncy castle and craft tables. Free horse and
buggy rides were given by Larry and Linda Ceaser. The Chatsworth Fire Fighters provided tours of their Fire Truck. A great day for all who attended.
2018/19 ~ The Men’s and Ladies’ washrooms were removed from the front foyer and replaced with an accessible washroom and a
small storage room. Contractors were Mike Moore Plumbing Company, Triple M, Jim Mullins Electric Company and Tom Juffs. In-Kind-Hours were provided by members.
2020 ~ With the closing of the Chatsworth Arena in June 2019; the Chatsworth Agriculture Society donated a commercial sized
dishwasher. The dishwasher was installed by Bob Webster, owner and operator of Webster Plumbing. Georgian Bay Chemical refurbished the unit and Johnston Plumbing, Owen Sound
rebuilt the motor.
A new kitchen counter top was custom made by Bill Johnson Counter Tops, Owen Sound and installed by a Branch volunteer.
Volunteers broke through the stone wall between the hall and kitchen. The hot table is now housed in the wall between the two
rooms; making serving dinners more convenient. Double doors were later installed to divide the two rooms when necessary.
2020 ~ A complete refit of both the Men’s and Ladies’ washrooms took place. New suspended ceilings, stalls, toilets, basins,
floors, lights and paint all became a reality.
2020 ~ The Coronavirus, Covid-19, a severe acute respiratory disease, with an introduction date of December 2019, emerged
and spread rapidly globally. Branch 464 closed on March 13, 2020 until further notice; prior to The State of Emergency being declared by Premier Doug Ford on
March 17, 2020. The Ontario Premier recommended all Ontario citizens stay at home, only going out for essentials items, wear a mask, keep a distance two metres
apart and wash hands often.
Because of Covid-19; a glass barrier was installed around the bar to ensure the safety of both the bar stewards and the
Branch’s patrons, in preparation of re-opening. Owen Sound Glass installed the glass. Today, April 15, 2021 more than a year later; we remain closed with no
sign to the end of this pandemic.
District re-imbursed the membership per capita to all Branches to assist Branches financially. We received $3,546.00. The Federal
Government offered financial assistance to all Royal Canadian Legions through a grant. The amount our Branch received was $10,845.05. Later we received an
additional amount of _________.
The assistance we received from the Federal Government and our District, along with the membership dues basically represents our
revenue for the past year, plus.
2021 ~ The process of vaccinating all persons globally is our hope, to the light at the end of the tunnel.
2021 ~ The bar area was partially gutted, insulated, drywalled and painted. A suspended ceiling and new ceiling lights
were installed. All work completed by branch volunteers.
On July 29, 2021 the patio and club room were re-opened. Masks are required to move around and can only be removed while
seated. Food can be prepared and served to tables. Music is allowed but no dancing yet.
September 22, 2021 ~ Proof of 2 vaccination is required by all citizens to enter restaurants, bars, meeting places and gyms.
December 5, 2021 ~ Friday Dinners were once again being served at our Branch directly following the Friday Afternoon Jam.
December 2021 ~ A folding door at the end of the bar was installed to secure the bar area behind the counter. A new ceiling
and lights were installed in one half of the club room.
January 4, 2022 ~ A new variant of Covid-19, Omicron, emerged and all of Ontario was locked down again bringing all activities
at the Legion to a halt again.
Over the years most of the labour for these projects has been provided by
the many volunteers from our Branch. And we would like to thank each and
everyone of them for their dedication and the generosity of their time.
Without you all this could not happen!
|
|
WHAT KIND ARE YOU?
Are you an active member, the kind who could be missed,
Or are you just contented that you name is on the list?
Do you take an active part to help the work along,
Or are you satisfied to simply just belong?
Do you attend the meetings and mingle with the flock,
Or do you stay at home to criticize and knock?
Are you a member booster, or just one with a kick,
Who leaves the work to just a few and talks about the clique?
Think about this Comrade, you know right from wrong,
Are you an active member or do you just belong?
Author unknown, taken from 50th Anniversary booklet
|
All MONEY RAISED BY THE LEGION IS USED TO MAINTAIN THE BUILDING AND TO ASSIST OUR COMMUNITY.
PLEASE VIEW OUR DONATION PAGE FOR A LIST OF DONATIONS MADE BY
THE ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 464, CHATSWORTH
|
|
|
|
|
