Local legion celebrates 100 years of celebrating service
CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
On Oct. 13, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8 celebrated its centenary – a hundred years of dedicated service and gratitude for Stratford and area’s veterans.
“It’s been a big undertaking,” said Frank Mathieson, president of the local legion. “This would be my 44th year here. So it's a trip down memory lane … People are surprised, but I mean, anybody can know the history if you just take the time to learn it.”
The Royal Canadian Legion was started in 1926. After the First World War ended, numerous veterans associations and groups began to pop up, though with resources spread across multiple smaller groups, their projects were fragmented and often unsuccessful. Veterans called for a unified group and in 1925 the Canadian Legion was founded in Winnipeg, Man., later receiving royal patronage in 1960.
The local legion was started in October of 1926 (and the Ladies Auxillary began a year later in 1927). It was the eighth legion to start in Ontario, hence its name, and the 10th to be chartered in Canada. Maj. James Cardwell Makins was its first president.
The legion was located at what was formerly called the Scholz House on the southeast corner of Church Street and St. Patrick Street, though it was renamed the Loghrin Memorial Home after a city councillor who was killed in the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The legion would reside in the Loghrin Memorial Home until 2018, when it moved to their current location on Ontario Street due to rising maintenance costs.
Over the years, the function and scope of the legion has changed, though they have always been devoted to the “perpetuation of remembrance,” and the uplifting of the community’s veterans, members, seniors and youth, through various events, bursaries and education.
Although membership has been in decline in recent years, the legion was giving out free membership for the 100th year, bringing in about 50 new members thanks to the centenary program. According to Mathieson, the legion boasts about 340 members in total as of the celebration weekend.
The planning for the 100th anniversary events started in 2024 with a committee of 14 people, all organizing the big celebration last weekend.
On Friday, the celebration began with a tombola casino night. On Saturday, there was an all-day open-house, barbecue, cake cutting, meat draw and evening dance. The weekend ended with a roast beef dinner on Sunday night.
Though, perhaps one of the most lasting events for the anniversary was the dedication of a bench at the cenotaph. Area dignitaries were in attendance for the laying of wreaths and readings by legion members on the morning of Oct. 17. Afterwards, it was the legion’s two longest serving members who unveiled the bench’s plaque, Clarence McCallum and Tom Soper.
Mayor Martin Ritsma, speaking at the dedication, said he thinks of two things when looking at the bench. One, its an opportunity for Stratfordians of today to sit and reflect on those that made the ultimate sacrifice.
“The second piece is around the 100 years of service of the Stratford region, 100 years of supporting veterans, 100 years of remembering and reflecting those veterans or those individuals that served and sacrificed, and 100 years of giving to the City of Stratford in many ways,” Ritsma said. “… When you think of Canada, you think of a nation that has served and has done its part in this world for peace. So, on behalf of the City of Stratford, city council, past, present and future, I thank the legion for their ongoing work …”
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