Patricia Baker is the new president of the Oak Lake Legion Ladies Auxiliary No.79 and being a newbie to the auxiliary, she along with many legion members held a 75th Anniversary celebration to honour those who put their heart and soul into serving the community.
Baker says the Ladies Auxiliary serves funeral lunches for legion members and this fall they provided a lunch for Liberal candidate, Michelle Budiwski in Oak Lake.
“We are just a small group of people who help out with the meat draws and assist with the Christmas suppers every year where we cook turkeys and organize the event,” says Baker.
The auxiliary attends regular meetings with other districts that are involved with helping out when they can. As of now, there are no new upcoming members that they know of, however the ladies feel it’s important to keep the auxiliary going.
Baker says because there are so few veterans left it is not necessary to be connected to a war veteran to acquire a membership.
At the Oak Lake Legion Hall, Baker adds that they are in the process of condensing photos, paperwork and memorabilia to put into photo albums for easier access instead of just wall photos.
Lucina Decroliere who passed away last year at the age of 101, was honored by the auxiliary. They were happy to say they took pictures of the celebration before her passing in July of 2022.
75th Celebration
Oak Lake Legion No. 79, Ladies Auxiliary 75th Anniversary Tea was held on Oct.14. Pat Baker welcomed all and gave an excellent review of the many years that the Ladies have served the legion, the veterans, their community and the country. There were pictures to view from past years to present.
Marie Barron, Deputy District Commander brought greetings on behalf of Provincial Council.
Cam Moir, President of the Oak Lake Legion Branch No. 79, represented the Branch and Reeve Cyril Druwe represented Sifton Municipality and the Town of Oak Lake.
Margaret Gabrielle was presented with a 65-year pin and an arrangement of flowers for her many years of service. Three Life Members, Irene Clarke, Mary Pierce and Irene Johnston were also presented with flower arrangements (the work of Marie Barron). Anniversary cake, fruit, cheese and crackers were served along with tea and coffee. There were 60 in attendance and a great tea it was with lots of visiting.
The door prize of a flower arrangement was won by Chloe Bailey of Oak Lake and Frances Stonehouse from Elkhorn won the door prize, a Legion Wrist Watch.
Baker presents history
On Jan. 12, 1948, Royal Canadian Legion Command in Ottawa, issued a charter, and the Oak Lake Legion Ladies Auxiliary came into being with 18 Oak Lake ladies as charter members.
Over the 75 years membership has fluctuated. In 1949 there were 52 members. In 1952 only three years later, membership was down to 32 members. By 1986 it was back up to 50. In 2007 the auxiliary had 28 members, and as of Oct. 9, 2023, we are 12 members. We lost three long-time members last year, two of which were Life members.
In 1959 yearly memberships were $1. Today, memberships are $15.
The hall for meetings was on Front Street until 1965 when we moved to South Railway. We weren’t there very long when a fire broke out in 1966 and destroyed everything. For a time, meetings were held in the community restroom, which became the News office/Catholic Hall respectively. In 1969 the Branch purchased an empty store from Deleau and fixed it up. We are presently using this same building.
The Legion Ladies have done many fundraisers. One that caught my eye, while going over the notes, was in 1966. A motion was made that they buy 150 packages of Legion cigarettes to be sold at Bingos. The Motion was carried. They were sold for 48 cents a pack. (How times have changed!) Another fundraiser was the traveling pillowcase. It travelled from member to member. When it came to you, you bought what the member before you put into the pillowcase, you also put something into the pillowcase for the next member to buy and so on.
The Legion Ladies Auxiliary No.79 meetings are opened and closed in ritual form. Opening with advancing The Colors, singing “O Canada”, repeating the Act of Remembrance, and closing with singing God Save the King, and retiring of The Colors.
These days we have District meetings where we meet members of other auxiliaries. A Fun Day is also held with all auxiliaries sending members. This is always fun to attend.
Oak Lake Legion Ladies over the years have somehow managed to donate to local and other charities, the amount not always a lot, but always heartfelt.
The Ladies could always be counted on to help out around town. Years ago, they took on the duty of mending and laundering youngsters’ hockey uniforms. At the end of the season, they were carefully repaired, laundered and packed away for another season.
The Auxiliary has seen many changes over 75 years, but the principal focus of the Auxiliary is the welfare of the branch and veterans and their families. Let us remember the industrious ladies who laid a firm foundation for our organization. We admire their resourcefulness as, at times, they labored under less than convenient conditions. They gave what they could and for that, we will always be grateful.
The Oak Lake Legion Ladies Auxiliary No.79 meets the third Wednesday of the month, excluding July and August. We would welcome all who are interested to attend.
