The following is a re-print of a past column by former Advertiser columnist Stephen Thorning, who passed away on Feb. 23, 2015.
Some text has been updated to reflect changes since the original publication and any images used may not be the same as those that accompanied the original publication.
A short while ago a couple of Fergus Legion members called me to see if I had any information on the early years of Branch 275. At that time I had nothing in my files.
I was surprised and disappointed that so little information of the first years of such an important organization has survived.
Branch 275 received its charter in 1935. Elora branch 229, which predates the Fergus Legion by some three years, attracted a large number of Fergus members in the 1930s. This undoubtedly slowed the progress of the Fergus branch in its early years.
The Fergus News Record contains virtually nothing about the organizational efforts that preceded the charter for Branch 275. A large factor in this scant coverage was that Fergus was embroiled in a plebiscite on the issue of licensed beverage rooms during the months when the Legion was organizing.
Col. R.T. Pritchard led the wet side, and several other men active in the Legion movement openly supported beverage rooms.
The dry side was led by W.L. Ham and Milton Beatty, senior executives at Beatty Bros., where total abstinence was the centrepiece of corporate policy.
Editor Hugh Templin obviously considered it a wise policy to say as little as possible about the Legion during and after the plebiscite.
The real catalyst in the formation of Branch 275 was not beer, but rather the completion of the Fergus war memorial. Two separate committees had worked on the project, but failed to bring it to completion.
Dr. Norman Craig wrote and produced a play for the Fergus centennial in 1933. Two years later, it was not yet constructed.
The organizers of the Fergus Legion met in late 1934 and 1935, and applied for a charter. In May 1935 they decided to take on the memorial as their first project.
The memorial committee, led by J.M. Milligan, Willard Conlin and Col. Pritchard, pushed ahead with vigour and completed the project in time for an all-day unveiling ceremony on Aug. 5.
Meanwhile, Branch 275 received its charter. The document, dated May 15, 1935, today hangs proudly on a wall at the branch. The official ceremony took place on June 3. The old Fergus armoury was filled for the meeting, with the executive of the Elora and Guelph branches as guests of honour.
Twenty-one names are listed on the document as charter members: J.B. Morrison, O.B. Brown, N.M. Craig, R.A. Dowling, Bill Dobbie, Melville Dunn, James Fuller, James Flannery, Simeon Holman, John Honsinger, Robert Jackson, Walter Lee, James Lavery, Ed Langdon, L.M. McHardy, Robert Nelles, R.D. Plant, James Russell, Andrew Steele, Wallace Young and Jonathon Wright. Interestingly, neither J.M. Milligan nor Col. Pritchard were charter members.
As its first official task, Branch 275 organized the 1935 Decoration Day service. In previous years this task had fallen on Elora Branch 229, which occasionally was called the Elora-Fergus branch. At Decoration Day services in both Fergus and Elora, and at the Remembrance Day service, the Last Post was invariably by Fred Pearse.
For years Branch 275 lacked its own club room. The Legion met in borrowed quarters on Monday nights for socializing and cards, followed by a lunch.
There were also fundraising events and entertainments. In November 1935, for example, Branch 275 sponsored a popular old-time fiddling contest that attracted 22 entries and a huge crowd. They followed this with a Burns Night celebration in February 1936, and an amateur night two months later at the Grand Theatre.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to locate any listing of the executive for the first three years.
J.B. Morrison acted as president in 1936, with Walter Lee as first vice-president. The earliest list I have seen is for 1938. Col. Pritchard was president and James Catchpole was vice-president. Norm Haner was secretary, Simeon Holman treasurer and Fred Saunders Sgt. at Arms.
As a service to members, the Legion began offering assistance to those applying for war pensions. Another activity was a series of bingos in 1938 and 1939 to raise money for the Groves Hospital Aid. Fergus had taken over the hospital a couple of years before, and it was in dire need of improvements and upgrading. One bingo night in 1939 raised $260, a considerable sum for a charity event in that period.
Information on Branch 275 is more plentiful beginning in 1939. In March of that year the News Record began running a column styled “Legion Notes.” The column, which was sometimes signed “A.J.C.,” often appealed for new members. The Legion believed there were at least 100 veterans in the Fergus area who were not members at the start of 1939.
There were also some problems with renewals. Many Fergus veterans preferred to belong to the Elora branch, which by this time had permanent club rooms open nightly and a licensed beverage room. Nevertheless, Branch 275 membership topped the 75 mark in the spring of 1939.
Early in 1939 Legion headquarters began to collect data on veterans in case war broke out in Europe. The “Legion Notes” column stated ominously that “it is within the bounds of possibility that Canadians may become involved.” The Legion wanted information on the civilian activities and skills of veterans and asked older veterans to begin volunteering for home defence.
On a happier note, the Fergus Legion put on a special effort to have all members in attendance when King George VI and his family passed through Guelph in June 1939.
There was much confusion in Guelph about the arrangements and conflicting instructions from the Guelph police, who were in charge of the assembly. The Fergus Legion had intended to be present in formation, but this was not possible. Despite the organizational problems, virtually the entire branch attended.
By the late 1930s, most First World War veterans in Fergus had young families, and each August the Fergus Legion’s picnic was a highlight – basket lunches on blankets, games for the children, and easy fellowship.
In August 1939 the branch organized a car pool to Guelph for what proved to be the last carefree outing before war returned to Europe. In the years after the Second World War, the Legion’s role would broaden – from convivial gatherings to expanded support for returning servicemen and women, remembrance of another conflict and community service.
*This column was originally published in the Fergus-Elora News Express on Nov. 4, 1998.
