The Royal Canadian Legion Saskatchewan Command LEST WE FORGET 297 In the fall of 1953, a meeting was held to survey the possibility of forming a Legion in Harris, since there were several who held memberships in other Branches. On May 10, 1954, in the Orange Hall, the Harris Legion received its charter with twenty-two members in attendance. After a few years of holding meetings in the old curling rink and in the Orange Hall, it was decided to build a meeting place in the basement of the Orange Hall in the spring of 1958. Since then, the Harris New Horizon's have taken over the hall and meetings are now held upstairs. In 1995, the Branch held a Canada Remembers Celebration, where every Veteran from the Harris and Tessier area, who had served in WWII, were invited. Many of the returning Veterans hadn't seen each other for fifty years. It was a wonderful celebration. The Branch continues to support the Veteran's Comfort Fund. They have a Remembrance Day Service and help with the service at the school and also promote the literacy, poster and colouring contests. To raise monies, they hold bingos, cater for funeral lunches and help with Sports Days, reunions and homecomings. They also help out in the community in any way possible. Branch members are very proud of the Memorial Wall located in the local Museum, which displays photos of local Veterans killed in WWII, along with a photo of the lake that has been named in their honor. A former resident, Bill Pringle, who had a brother killed in action, donated the funds for this project. To date, the Branch operates successfully and has a total of thirty-three members, including five Veterans. LADIES’ AUXILIARY TO HARRIS BRANCH 361 The Harris Legion Ladies’ Auxiliary received its charter on September 9, 1954, with eighteen members. Due to declining membership in both the Harris Legion and Auxiliary, on December 13, 2000, it was decided to disband the Auxiliary. Most of the members joined The Legion at that time. HARRIS BRANCH 361 Nutana Branch 362 received its charter on June 3, 1954, with seventy-three charter members. The Branch started at 1141-5th Street East in the Clarence Street Mission. In 1959, they built on to the hall. In 1962-1964, members started looking for a new site. In 1969, the new Branch was built on what is now the Market Mall property. In 1970, an addition was added, and again in 1972. In 1981, they retired the mortgage on this property. In 1987, they sold the property and moved to 3021 Louise Street, and are happily still here. Nutana Legion celebrates every Branch milestone and any Dominion anniversary. The Branch has been a financial supporter of the #107 Air Cadets, Track & Field, and many other local non-profit groups. The Branch is very active in fundraising. To do this, they rely on many volunteers. They keep track of some of the volunteer hours, and in 2005, they recorded over 5,100 hours! Great job by members! The Branch has a full lounge operation open 7 days a week. On Friday and Saturday nights, they have live band music for members and guests. On Sundays, the band plays from 5-7 p.m., and they sell food and meat tickets, again, all this is done by volunteers. They rent out their Memorial hall for functions, and this revenue certainly helps out the Branch. The Ladies’ Auxiliary to Branch 362 volunteer for all the banquets and are generous with their funds. Every year, they donate $15,000.00 - $20,000.00 to the Branch. The Branch thanks the Ladies’ Auxiliary for their support. Executive and members from the Branch are very active in the Poppy Campaign, Remembrance Day service, Decoration Day Service, Poppy Trust Committee, Canada Remembers Air show, and Church Parade. The Branch has held some special events in current years. In November 2005, they held a 'Year of the Veteran' celebration, which was attended by many Veterans - during the ceremony, guests went around and shook the hands of the Veterans and thanked them for our life today. It was a touching ceremony. In 2003, members started the pinning of the first Poppy on the Lt. Governor, with a ceremony in the Hall. This was a well-attended event. Nutana Branch has a museum of war history, located on the lower floor. It is steadily outgrowing its space. Thanks again to volunteers, they have excelled in setting up a museum, which has received recognition from the National War Museum. Nutana Branch 362 hosts many Legion sports at all the levels and participates in Provincial and Dominion conventions. They also attend to all Zone rallies and District meetings. They are very interested in the great work of The Royal Canadian Legion and try to keep up with all that they do locally, nationally and internationally. NUTANA BRANCH 362 (Cont’d...)
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