ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION FRED GIES BRANCH 50

THE DUGOUT

January - February - March 2019

LEST WE

FORGET

REMEMBER !

IT’S NOT WHAT YOU PAY

TO BE A

MEMBER

IT’S WHAT THEY PAID

TO LET YOU.

At the time of print for this edition of the Dugout, Christ-mas and New Year will be over. I hope it was an enjoyable and uneventful one. It is said that each New Year brings a new start and with the Treasurer reporting that we are finally at a break even point with our finances, this is good news and definitely a trend we need to keep going. I am hoping to restart the Friday Fish Fry, starting on Good Friday, providing I can get some vol-unteers to help out. It takes a full day to prep and do the cooking and the commitment would be for the duration of the summer. If we get enough interest, perhaps we could have rotating teams each week to ease the load.

We have been lucky to get a sign board out front to adver-tise the events at the Branch and it has served us well but it is an inanimate sign that has to be physically changed for each event. We are hoping to convert the existing sign that has the Legion logo on it to an electronic changing sign that can be remotely programmed from the office. These are not cheap, they could be around $16,000.00, and we have tried to raise the costs by hav-ing a donation jar at the bar. So far we have raised about $800.00 over the past two years. Getting the message out to the public and Members will help with filling the Branch when we have entertainment, sports and other events. Any ideas you may have to fundraise for the new sign would be most welcome.

My sincere thanks to all the Volunteers who help with Tuesday cooking and serving, those assisting with sports events and everyone that puts in their efforts and time to keep the Branch functioning. Not everyone knows who your are, but I do and I am most grateful.

On a final note, by the 31st of December 2018, we should have the new roof installed and we will be good to go for another 80 years. It doesn’t harm to dream, does it?

Yours In Comradeship

PRESIDENT REPORT - CHRIS PICKERING

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Good Day Comrades:

I hope that everyone had a great Christmas and a safe New Year. You filled up on turkey and gifts with the families.

We have come through another Remembrance Day, which was not as great as last year. Still, I hope you remember the soldiers and Veterans at this holiday time of year.

I hope you are making it into the Branch once in a while to support and socialize.

We will try to restart our Thursday Euchre on January 10th at 1:00pm. Jean and I hope you can make it.

Please take care when sitting in the chairs. There have been several chairs with the backs split-ting apart and there is no need to sit hard and rock on the chairs. Your co-operation is greatly appreci-ated. HAVE A GREAT HEALTH YEAR.

PAST PRESIDENT REPORT - AL HOHNER

2nd VICE - PRESIDENT REPORT - DON WALTER

Bar sales have increased every month for the last 3, which is good. We were down a little bit for Remembrance Day. I don’t think we had the people like other years, but it was still pretty good. Hopefully sales will continue to increase. Happy New Year to All.

Hope you all had a great Christmas and holiday season and that Santa was good to you.

We are now half way through our fiscal year and the Branch is continuing to maintain its break even position. After the first six months we show a small loss of only $240.00. considering this in-cludes the slower summer months, we appear to be in a good position to make this a profitable year. We are continuing to offer sports and entertainment to entice you to come to the Branch and the Execu-tive Committee is always trying to come up with new ways to make the Branch better.

Thanks for your support in the past, and please give your continuing support to our Branch in the future.

TREASURER REPORT - PETER WHITEHALL

MEMBERSHIP REPORT - PAM BARRAGER

Hey everyone. Hope you had a great Xmas and a Happy New Year. As of January 1, 2019, if you won an Early Bird, your name will NOT be put into the draw for the year you won as you are not paying.

Also, please pay your dues BEFORE December 31st of every year. Also make sure your Mem-bership is paid well before September if you are to get a pin for the years of service at the Honours & Awards of being a Member.

Dues renewal for 2019 are still the same $60.00. New Membership is still $70.00. Please come out and support your Branch

Early Bird winners in 2019 are: David Cranford, Paul Scagnetti and Carl Buder.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU!

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CHAPLAIN’S REPORT - CANON CHRISTOPHER PRATT

As we begin to fill up the calendar pages for 2019, what are some of the things that you have made as a priority for the year ahead? It has been said that if you want to know what a persons priorities are, you need to review their cheque book and their calendar. Where we expend our finances tells us a great deal about what is important in our lives. We do our best to make sure that the basic necessities of life are looked after. Food, clothing and shelter rank highest on our list. Our calendars tell us a great deal too about ourselves. What we say are our priorities may or may not make it to the final cut. Take a look at the past year. See where you actually spent one of the most precious elements of you lifeEE.your time.

As each of us receives the gift of a new day, we have the responsibility to use that gift wisely. Hopefully, as you review your priorities, the life of the Branch and your commitment to the work of the Royal Canadian Legion will be given a place of significance as you set the pattern for the days ahead in 2019.

Warm Regards

SPORTS REPORT - LARRY LEISKAU

WOW! What an amazing finish to 2018. Teams in Cribbage, Euchre and Shuffleboard move on to District play with Nancy-Jean and Charlie winning Zone Shuffleboard and the privilege of hosting the 2019 event, here at Branch 50. Special thanks to Dianne, Corey, Len and Doug for their help in hosting the re-cent Zone shuffleboard Tournament.

Please remember these days:

Monday at 1:00pm is Bid Euchre

Monday at 6:30pm is 8-Ball Pool

Tuesday at 1:00pm is Shuffleboard

Every-other-Tuesday at 1:00pm is Seniors Darts (starting January 15th)

Wednesday at 1:00pm is Bid Euchre

Wednesday at 7:00pm is Fun Cribbage League

Wednesday at 7:15pm is Shuffleboard

Thursday at 1:00pm is Euchre (Starting January 10th)

Thursday at 7:00pm is 9-Ball Pool

Friday at 1:00pm is Solo

Friday at 8:00pm is Ladies Darts

1st Saturday of each month is a Cribbage Tournament starting at NOON, 2nd Saturday is Pony Challenge at 2:00pm, 3rd Saturday is Pool Tournament at 10:30am, 4th Saturday is a Solo Tournament at 12:30

Many thanks to those dedicated Volunteers who continue to strengthen our in-house sports pro-gram. We couldn’t do it without you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone. 2019 is going to be better.

Cheers All. Be safe.

January - February - March 2019

January - February - March 2019 Page 4

DONATION OR LOAN?

Donations are given WITHOUT RETURN CONSIDERATION. In other words, you give up all owner-

ship to the item(s) and they become the property of the Branch.

Loans are something you turn over to the Branch with the expectation that it will be returned. The

Branch does not take over ownership or accept any liability. In fact, we do not accept loans. We’re not in

the business of tracking things not owned by us. It’s far too much work as you can see below.

A lot of people have made donations to the Branch over the past several years. We try to display as

many as possible, or put them into storage for future displays. When a donation is made, a couple of

thinks happen. First of all, the Memorabilia guy, that’s me, take them home to be photographed in the state

in which they were donated. Then the items are registered with a description and with the photos taken.

This takes about an hour per time. The page is then saved on a hard drive and on a USB memory stick.

The descriptions are also uploaded about once per year to the computer in the Branch office. This give us

a description held in at least 3 separate locations that can be given to our insurance provider, should the

item be lost, stolen or damaged. The paper copies of the descriptions are held in the Branch office by our

office manager.

In the case of service medals, we sent them out to Drouin Enterprises in Gatineau Quebec where

the staff there clean, re-ribbon and court-mounted them. They will also replace any missing clasps, etc.

This costs the Branch anywhere from $30-$50 per medal.

They then, where possible, get framed along with a photo and short biography of the person. This is done

just up the road from the Branch at The Framing and Art Centre. I am sure you will agree the ladies there

do a great job. Costs vary according to the amount of customizing that needs to be done. Then, another

photo is taken of the final product, the description page is updated, and the item is hung. A careful ob-

server will note that the frames for both WWI and WWII are the same, but different colours, and the matting

is different for each war.

So — what type of donations are desired? Since we are interested in honouring those who have

served, and remembering them, donations like medals, photos, bios are great. Personal memorabilia like

uniforms, caps, badges, etc. are also good, but subject to culling once the donation is made. Remember,

once the donation is made, you no longer own them; that’s why the Branch culls them or spends money on

them once possession is established. Corey has a donation form for you to fill out and so you relinquish

ownership.

Items that we no longer accept are newspapers, magazines, scrapbooks, VHS tapes, pocket novels

(unless they are related to military service) family photo albums, dishes, cups, saucers, CD’s, DVD’s, and

anything you don’t want cluttering up your house, but think might be great taking up very limited space at

the Branch. Paper items cannot be circulated as the disintegrate rapidly,— witness the magazines and

newspapers currently on display— they are turning to dust due to the sulphuric acid used in the manufac-

turing process. VHS tapes are no longer manufactured and the last CHS tape player was manufactured in

Japan in the summer of 2016! CD’s and DVD’s are often scratched and unplayable — or get that way very

quickly.

Hope this helps! When in doubt, bring the items in and they will be reviewed and an assessment

made. You will be advised to donate, take home, or throw out some or all of the items under consideration.

MEMORABILIA REPORT - PAUL SCAGNETTI

HALL RENTAL FORMS

AND INFORMATION

ARE AVAILABLE ON THE

BRANCH 50 WEBSITE

www.rclbr50.ca

Taking an active rôle to

remember our Veterans is a

great way to say

"THANK YOU".

ENTERTAINMENT REPORT - DAN LAROCQUE

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas and New Years. Please see the website or calen-dar for the coming events. 2019 looks like a fun year for entertainment.

January 12th is “Randy the Ventriloquist” at 5:30pm

January 26th is “Highway 24” at 7:00pm - Cover Charge

February 23rd is “Dianne and the Cavaliers” at 7:00pm - Cover Charge

March 16th is a St. Patrick’s Day Party with Jacob & Caleb at 8:00pm

Karaoke is still going on Tuesday nights, come out and sing and enjoy yourself.

**DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE, DANCE THE JIVE AND ARRIVE ALIVE**

We went for a visit to Sunnyside Nursing Home in November. It was a great time for all. They only

have 5 Veterans at this time, and one of them is bed-bound.

We are in need of items for our return in the spring, it will be around the Easter time. Thank you to

all who donate (whether it is items or money for Corey to shop with) Every little bit helps. We received

quite a lot from Operation Christmas Child this time around, but we can’t rely on them to help out all the

time. We want to rely on the Members here at the Branch.

SICK & VISITING REPORT - AUDREY WEIDO

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SENIOR’S REPORT - JEAN DAVIDSON

I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year. The winners on our Christmas Baskets were:

O. Vegga, Charlotte Taylor and Dennis Chambers (Sr) Congratulations to all!!

Seniors Meetings will be January 13th at the Branch and will have a potluck with BINGO. We will discuss what we will be doing at future meetings on this date.

February 10th at the Branch with a potluck

March 10th at the Branch with a potluck

DUGOUT EDITOR REPORT - ALF ASH

This edition will be 3 month (Jan - Feb - March 2019) and I am sorry for the short notice to the Ex-ecutive Members who were only given a week to submit their reports, but I did intend to not do this job any longer because it was going to be a 2 month edition. But my co-worker Corey, who does all of the work involved in these Dugout Editions, convinced me to stay around and continue on doing this Editors posi-tion.

I hope that you readers/members appreciate all the work that the Volunteers do for our Branch, mostly done behind the scenes with no fanfare, just quietly doing all the needed work that has to be done to keep this Branch healthy and running smoothly. Thanks to everyone who has ever Volunteered for be-ing there whenever they were needed and putting up with some negative stuff that goes on in every Service Club.

A big thank you to our Executive Members for sending in their reports to me/Corey for this edition and the past Editions, we appreciate the time that you spend doing these reports, and to those Executive Members who do not send in their reports, remember it is your job to keep the Branch Members in the loop at all time, please tell them how your handling your portfolio and goals and expectations for the future.

All the best in 2019.

Due to liability issues, sadly, the Poppy House is no longer taking on the responsibil-ity of either accepting, or loaning out, mobility appliances, such as walkers, canes, wheelchairs, scooters, etc. Any Veteran, or surviving spouse of a Veteran, in need of such items is asked to con-tact the Service officer at their nearest Legion Branch to apply for DVA assistance. You need not be a Legion Member to talk to a Branch Service Officer. If the DVA turns you down, please fill out a Poppy Fund Assistance application, available from our website un-der REPORTS, or from the Poppy House at 316 Marsland Dr. in Waterloo. Please phone first for a mutually convenient appointment to Cathy at (519) 885-1001.

Poppy House News Regarding Wheelchairs, Walkers, Mobility Appliances etc.

YOUTH EDUCATION REPORT - CAROL GABRIEL

Poster and Literary Contest was a great success, we had many submissions to choose from. Thank you to all the schools that took the time out to participate. We have 7 entries that are moving on, they are:

Lalaine Niminio (black & white poster) Krista Mtowela , Marissa Jordan and Aaliyah Whyte-Watson (colour poster) Madison Brydges and Olivia Bowen (Essay) Ebony Bridgewater (Poem)

CONRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU AND GOOD LUCK IN THE NEXT LEVEL

We are going to host the Public Speaking Contest. It will be at the Branch on Sunday February 10th at 10:00am. Hope we have as many contestants as we did submissions for the Poster and Literary Contest.

Good luck to all!! We are ready and prepared for the students.

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President Chris Pickering

Past President Al Hohner

1st Vice President/Security Jean-Pierre Arnold

2nd Vice President/ TOD Don Walter

Treasurer Peter Whitehall

Executive Secretary Pam Barrager

Sergeant At Arms Ed Gorniak

Membership Pam Barrager

Poppy Campaign Don Gingrich

Youth Education Carol Gabriel

Track and Field Al Hohner

Sports Larry Leiskau

Ways and Means Larry O’Brien

Sick & Visiting Audrey Weido / Larry Leiskau

Honors & Awards Pam Barrager

Entertainment Dan Larocque

Veterans Services Jean-Pierre Arnold

Seniors Jean Davidson

BRANCH 50 EXECUTIVE

I just want to thank everyone for their support of the Legion and coming out for the meat spins on Saturdays. Also, a big thanks to the Volunteers that help when I am not available: Mike

Cassidy, Irene Blanchard and my wife Colette. I wouldn’t be able to do this without you all.

If you have any ideas about ways to help make money for the Branch, please talk to myself or Colette. We are willing to try new ideas and are looking forward to 2019 being a fun and suc-

cessful year.

WAYS & MEANS REPORT - LARRY O’BRIEN

SERVICE RECOGNITION BOOKLET - PAUL SCAGNETTI

In the new year, I will be attempting to make more submission to Ontario Command’s next edi-tion of the Service Recognition book. I would very much like to submit your, or a member of

your family’s details. Here’s what you need to bring:

A photo, black and white, 4X6 is great. Take whatever you have to a store that will make a b&w copy of your original , on proper photo-grade paper. This is a must—no photocopies please! Try to make the photo one from the person’s service years, although this is not re-

quired.

A biography. Not sure how to do this? I will do the bio for you in 150 words or less. Sim-ply come and see me at the Branch with documents and notes and we will tell a story around

them.

My goal is to be available on 2-3 afternoons and 2-3 evenings. I will publish dates when I will be at the Branch to take this information, so keep watching your Dugout. Unable to come? Call the office or better - email the Branch at: royalcanadianlegion1@bellnet.ca— I will come to you at a time convenient to both of us. Submission have to be in by end of May for fall 2019 pub-

lication, so watch out for those dates. I expect they will be in February/March 2019.

January - February - March 2019 Page 8

About the Legion Established in 1926, the Legion is the largest Veterans service organization in Canada with more than 320,000 members. Its mission is to serve all Veterans including serving Canadian Forces and Royal Cana-dian Mounted Police members and their families, to promote Remembrance and to serve our communi-ties and our country. The Legion's Service Bureau Officers can assist and represent CF members Veterans, RCMP members and their families regarding disability claims or related issues with Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC) and the Vet-erans Review and Appeal Board (VRAB). In communities across Canada, it is the Legion that perpetuates Remembrance through the Poppy campaign and Remembrance Day ceremonies, With more than 1,450 branches, The Legion supports programs for seniors, Veterans housing, Long Term Care, youth leadership,

education, sports, Cadets, Guides and Scouts. We will Remember Them.

Keep an eye on The Re-cord’s weekly entertain-

ment guide, and the Branch website

for schedule

Reminder - Recycle Information - You Can Help

We collect Pop Cans, Pop Tabs, Eye Glasses, Canadian Tire Money, and toiletries for Veterans at Sunnyside Nursing Home and Parkwood Hospital . Please remove the tabs from the pop cans before depositing them in the recycle bin and bring in the tabs in a separate container. The pop cans will be donated to the Waterloo Shriners Aluminum Can Recycling Program, and the tabs will be sent to the Elora Legion for their Wheel Chair Program. 2250 Wheelchairs have been pur-chased through this program so far.

General Meetings

are the fourth Sunday of each month

except July, August and December

and begin promptly

at 2 p.m.

Come out and take an

active rôle in your branch.

LEGION MISSION STATEMENT

Our mission is to serve veterans

which includes serving Military and

RCMP members and their families,

to Promote Remembrance,

And to serve our

Communities and Country.

January - February - March 2019 Page 9

Branch 50 VOLUNTEERS

Chaplain Canon Christopher Pratt

Dugout / Website Alf Ash

Kitchen Peter Whitehall/Don Gingrich/ Irene Blanchard/Vera Pollock/ Shirley McGuire/Norma Ash/Dianne Jurchuk/Corey McFaddin/ Carol Gabriel/ Colette O’Brien

Royal Canadian Legion Fred Gies (Branch 50) Ontario

524 Belmont Avenue, West Kitchener, ON N2M 5E3 Phone: 519-745-5101 Fax: 519-745-0211

E-mail: royalcanadianlegion1@bellnet.ca Online: http://www.rclbr50.ca

Office: 8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Mon - Fri Club: 12:00 - 8:00 Mon - Sat

1:00 - 7:00 Sundays

PLEASE SEND MY DUGOUT VIA E-MAIL

Name: (Please Print) ______________________

Membership # : __________________________

Please E-Mail to __________________________

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