October 10-16 is Legion Week, and to celebrate, the Royal Canadian Legion Merritt Branch 096 will be hosting an open house and a BBQ offering free hotdogs, hamburgers, coffee and soft drinks and educating the community about what the Legion does.
“Our main focus is veterans and supporting them, not only financially if they need it, but also the Legion was originally put in place so that there would be a place for veterans to go and talk and socialize, because they’ve all experienced all the same things,” explained Merritt Legion president, Arlene Johnston, who also noted that there are more than 200 members in Merritt.
According to the Royal Canadian Legion mission statement, “Our mission is to serve veterans, including serving military and RCMP members and their families, to promote remembrance, and to serve our communities and our country.”
“And we’re not just about World War I, World War II and the Korean War, the Legion is there for new vets as well,” Johnston added.
Formerly, only Legion veterans were eligible to join, but now membership is open to anyone who wishes to support veterans and do good in their community. Members organize and facilitate fundraising, which supports a multitude of community groups and organizations.
“We also do a lot for the community,” said Johnston.
“We support the local Food Bank, the Hospital Auxiliary, anybody with a not-for-profit certification, like the High School Rodeo, schools, youth groups… we support the local cadets. We do a lot of community service.”
The Merritt Branch also provided an honour guard at the rededication of the historic Nicola Cemetery east of Merritt on Hwy 5A.
“We had an honour guard up there because there are a lot of veterans in that cemetery,” said Johnston.
Unfortunately, the Legion has not been immune to the difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Health restrictions have limited large groups from renting the Hall for weddings, birthdays, family reunions, etc. Restrictions have also impacted establishments with liquor service, which includes Legions, and fundraising events such as by-the-plate banquets and fundraising dinners.
“We’re not different than any other organization at this point with COVID, it has affected us,” said Johnston.
That being said, poppy donations have remained constant, for which Johnston offers her sincere thanks.
“The Legion is very grateful for all of the support that we get from the local community,” said Johnston.
“Even during COVID last year and tough times, our donations towards the poppies have remained. This community, even being a small community, comes together and supports very well.”
2021 marks the 100th year of the poppy as a symbol of Remembrance.
Madame Anna Guérin, ‘the Poppy Lady from France’, was inspired by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae’s famed ‘In Flanders Fields’ poem to adopt the distribution of the poppy on Armistice Day (now known as Remembrance Day) to raise money for veterans and commemorate their service.
From its official adoption in 1921, the Royal Canadian Legion, and others around the world, have upheld this poppy tradition, raising millions of dollars each year.
If you are interested in learning more about the Legion, or attending the open house and BBQ, visit the Merritt Royal Canadian Legion Branch 096 at 1940 Quilchena Ave. on Sat. Oct 16 between 11:00a.m. and 2:00p.m.
