'We want the public to know we're here' (7 photos)

Saturday, June 17 will mark the 50th anniversary of the official opening of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 25 hall at 96 Great Northern Road.

The public is invited to an open house, which will include light snacks in the Legion’s downstairs lounge from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

“We want the public to know we’re here,” said Wilma Jean Oliver, Branch 25’s recently-elected new president, adding the Legion is looking for new members.

“We’re reaching out to the young, they are our future,” Oliver told SooToday, emphasizing the Legion is not an old soldiers club.

Membership at Branch 25 is currently holding steady at approximately 600, dwindling from about 800 a decade ago, Oliver said.

One doesn’t have to be a veteran, or related to a veteran, to join the Legion.

“We get people who want to join the Legion because their father was a member, but anyone can join now.  We have a category for any citizen who wants to join,” Oliver said.

The Legion is a service club primarily dedicated to caring for veterans and their families, but its charitable efforts have benefited several community organizations and causes.

“We do a lot of community service, such as youth education programs (including public speaking contests) and track and field and sports programs (which the Legion will pay for, in part).”

“We’d welcome more band members too,” Oliver added.

The current Legion building on Great Northern Road was built and opened in 1967, Canada’s centennial year.

Annual membership fees are $55 for people 65 years of age and older, $65 for those under 65.

For more information call the Branch 25 office at 705-945-8721 or the Ladies Auxiliary at 705-256-2941.

History buffs will love to see photographs of the former Legion hall on Queen Street and Legion officers in years gone by at Saturday’s open house.

Branch 25 was first established in Sault Ste. Marie in 1928.

“That building was old, with a long set of stairs and very dark.  It was just too old and too awkward, so that’s why they decided to sell it and move here,” said Ron Rouleau, Branch 25 2nd vice president and museum curator.

And, while war is never pleasant, military history enthusiasts will enjoy the jaw-dropping collection of artifacts on display at Branch 25’s museum because of their historical significance.

The museum is one of the finest but least known historical treasures in Sault Ste. Marie. 

“Please join us and celebrate,” Oliver said.