Two world wars and the Korean War resulted in over a million men and women who had put on a uniform in Canada. The first veteran organizations started in 1917 and by 1925. they had merged into one national organization across Canada in Winnipeg. Branches were created coast to coast with buildings in the heart of many communities. It was in 1960, that Queen Elizabeth bestowed Royal to the Canadian legions and they probably enjoyed their greatest membership in the decades after World War II. Somehow they survived Prohibition, the Depression, additional wars and Covid 19. However, the aging veteran and family supports have taken their toll.
Legion buildings are aging in very much the same way that veterans are. Fundraising has always been tough to keep operations going. Alcohol, VLT and hall rentals have been the fuel that has kept doors open over the years. In recent years though, alcohol sales have faltered and the membership has gotten older and have moved or passed away. Success in the past was a younger working population that came in for memories, a drink and events.
Alcohol is just not an area that young people are drawn to in recent years. Bars and restaurant lounges are struggling because of this massive change. And so it goes with union halls and legions. The Royal Canadian Legion 90 was a Fort Garry gathering spot along Pembina Highway. The Pembina Hotel, the Cambridge Hotel and now the Legion are all gone. There is very little on Pembina that could be classified as a "watering hole" because people don't gather to drink together nearly as much.
The Fort Garry branch began in 1917 as the Great War Veterans Association when Fort Garry was truly a rural municipality. The University of Manitoba was in the middle of farm fields and had it's own police force. In 1947, the Legion was built at Pembina and Windermere. It was a time when veterans such as my grandfather were returning from the war and building in Fort Garry. He built in 1949 in Wildwood Park.
My grandfather never did join a Legion. Not everyone did. But they were important neighbourhood touchstones and meeting places. My grandfather was more a force at Wildwood Community Club. And so it went with the Greatest Generation after WWII. Over 700,000 returning vets spread out across Canada to build the nation we have now.
A drive down Pembina Highway today would probably have my grandfather noting the missing landmarks. In the last five years it has been a remarkable amount of gathering places knocked down. In 2022, The Fort Garry Legion accepted an offer to sell their property and building for an apartment development. The growing repair bills on their old location and the decline in membership had the Legion consider a new building on the other side of the underpass near Stafford and Pembina. The old location was turned into a 6 storey apartment building called The Point.
The new location was in a former Pizza Hut that had originally opened in 1986 but closed around 2019. A renovation made it suitable for the Legion but the aging population, decline in membership and a general move downward on alcohol consumption has had hotels, bars and restaurants struggling. The Legion once at 1500 members but the number has dropped down to 300. Legions no longer require memberships but that message is hard to deliver at all locations.
The merger between South Osborne and Pembina is a practical solution to the issue of how to keep Royal Canadian Legions going. Pembina Highway is a very narrow band of commercial activity from the Jubilee Underpass to the Perimeter Highway. New apartments are going up with retail on ground floors. The one thing missing nearly all the way down are community halls of any kid. Even the churches could be pushed out at this pace. There is some indication that the South Osborne Legion is adapting a little more to changes and on a street that still has a very community feel about it. A fresh injection of members could keep the two groups stronger. As for Pembina Highway, it remains to be seen what it will look like in ten years but it is happening fast.
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