This is another column in my ongoing regular series featuring the history of our local clubs and organizations.
The Newmarket branch No. 426 of the Royal Canadian Legion — to which both my father and my uncle belong — was started in 1946. My column on Newmarket’s military camp explains that in August 1946, after the military camp had been vacated, the town passed a bylaw repossessing the 32-acre site and acquiring the remaining 20 acres and all the buildings from War Assets Corporation for $34,700.
A few days later, it passed another bylaw to sell part of its purchase for $25,000 to John W. Bowser, a builder/contractor. It was located on the south side of Srigley Street and included all nine barracks; each unit had been the quarters for 136 servicemen and consisted of two long-frame sections joined at the centre with a utility room, thus making an ‘H’ plan form.
These were converted into bungalows by removing the centre portion and adapting each leg to make dwellings each 24 by 35 feet for a total of 35 bounded by new streets, Muriel Avenue, Lowell Avenue, Arthur Street and Newton Street. They were all sold for $5,000 each as soon as they were built in 1947.
Lt.-Col. K.M.R. Stiver was elected charter president of the local legion with a membership of approximately 250. The town would deed one of the buildings acquired at the closing of the camp, the officer’s mess building on the north side of Srigley Street, in 1949 to serve as their headquarters. The new organization was named the Milton Wesley Branch No. 426 Canadian Legion and was dedicated to Milton Wesley, who was instrumental in the early development of the Legion Hall, which has had many alterations and additions over the years.
People often confuse the Newmarket Veterans’ Association with the Newmarket Legion. The history of the Newmarket Veterans’ Association dates to March 30, 1916, when its colours were presented to the 127th Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force, which had an enlistment of 1,157 of all ranks from the district. After the war, returning veterans formed the Great War Veterans’ Association with branches across Canada.
In 1926, it became more localized with 13 branches in the district from Markham to Sutton, including Newmarket. I will be doing a feature on the Newmarket vets in the future.
The concept of a Newmarket branch of the Royal Canadian Legion first took form in the early spring of 1946, when three veterans, Howard Brown, Bill LaParde and Bill Denne, took up the gauntlet and recruited Jim Forhan, Hunt Taylor and Dr. Gordon Cock to form the founding committee of the future Newmarket branch.
Initially, meetings were held at Brown’s home, but as the membership grew, they found space at the Old Town Hall on Botsford Street. Early on, donations were solicited locally to pay for expenses.
Then, in June 1946, Conrade Bert Phelps, zone commander, presided over the election of the first executive, which consisted of president Ken Stiver, first vice-president Howard Brown, second vice-president Hunt Taylor, secretary treasurer Bill LaParde and six members at large, Dr. Gordon Cook, Gordon Ough, Aubrey Scythes, Bill Denne, Grant Dillane and Erie McCaffery.
The next milestone was the receiving of their charter on Sept. 18, 1946. Annual dues were set at $3 per year, and the membership soared. Town council made the old officer’s mess at the military camp available and, eventually, president Ken Stiver was able to arrange the purchase of the facility from the town for $1.
The first female member was Phyllis Brown, who would later become the first president of the Ladies Auxiliary.
The Legion presented its colours to town council on March 10, 1947. It was around this time that the Legion decided to form a blood clinic and recruit volunteers under the auspices of Dr. Cook and the Ladies Auxiliary. It was at this time that Oct. 11 was first declared a holiday and the Legion was involved in the organization of a parade.
Byron Burbridge, who was our chief of police at the time, was the first person to be granted a lifetime membership anywhere in Ontario. It is important to remember local clubs were dry until 1963 in Newmarket. Russell Shipley, who was the president at the time, was instrumental in getting the Legion its first liquor licence.
In 1963, the Legion had to close its bar until it obtained what was deemed a ‘proper licence.’ However, in late September, a new licence was granted, and the bar reopened.
In September 1954, the new Legion Hall, located in the old officer’s mess hall, was officially opened and Milt Wesley was praised for his part in making it all happen.
When the centennial of incorporation as a village came around in 1957, the Legion took a leading role in those celebrations.
By 1960, there had been such a rapid growth in the membership that an addition was begun under the leadership of Milt Wesley, Steve O’Gradnick, Sam Brymer, Henry VanZant, Don Cutting, Lorne Tennant, Roy Smalley, Cam Shier, Ivan Ruddock, Roy Stickwood, John Hisey, Herb Grandfield and George Smart. The grand opening for the addition was Sept. 15, 1962, with a message being received from Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.
It was at this grand opening that the branch was officially named the Milton Wesley Branch 426 Legion.
In October 1962, Roy Smalley and Russell Shipley formed a Legion Pipe Band, which sadly disbanded shortly after, but in 1984, the band was formed again.
In 1964, the Legion, under Russell Shipley, began to provide awards and scholarships to the students of both Newmarket High School and Huron Heights Secondary School. I was proudly a recipient of a scholarship and an award.
In 1967, for Canada’s centennial, the local branch celebrated by creating an extended public meeting hall named Centennial Hall.
Again in 1980, when we were celebrating our incorporation as a town, the Legion hosted a championship Highland Games at the fairgrounds to considerable acclaim.
Most of us identify the Legion with the annual poppy campaign, but its efforts go much further in the community.
While the Legion is known for a great many local community endeavours, from hosting various groups in its facilities to its many humanitarian efforts, it is through its involvement in sports that I know it best. I played rep baseball for several years and the Legion was the primary sponsor for our peewee team starting in 1960.
The Legion provides sports for its members and their families as part of its social activities mandate, but it is its sponsorship of sport programs for non-member organizations, particularly for young people, for which it is known. It covers the gamut of local sports: soccer, baseball, softball and hockey.
The Legion would often provide the manager/coach and the necessary finances with which to operate. People will remember the names Frank Hollingsworth, Bob Earley, Art Westlake and his son, John, John Rowland, and Alex Grant, I am sure.
In hockey, the Legion sponsored and supplied the coaches for the local midget team, the Warriors, who won several Ontario Minor Hockey Association titles. Some of the men associated with the Legion’s hockey program were Norm Legge, Myles McInnes and Pete Dillman. Most of you will likely remember the annual ‘B’ or house-league hockey tournament that operated during spring break, a 1967 Centennial project the Legion financed and became a partner with.
For members and their families, the Legion provides euchre, cribbage, darts, shuffleboard, snooker, bowling, golf and curling competitions.
Legion-sponsored teams have enjoyed considerable success over the years, capturing many championships.
If you grew up in Newmarket, you will likely remember the Legion’s Soapbox Derby, which took over Main Street every year. Perhaps you participated.
Before I close, I would like to have a look at the Legion’s Ladies Auxiliary and its contributions. As I indicated above, in September 1947, the Ladies Auxiliary debuted with Phyllis Brown installed as the first president. On April 26, 1948, they received their charter.
Their mandate was initially to raise funds for the Legion through euchre parties in support of the Legion’s ongoing aid and support for our ex-servicemen and their families.
Over the years, their efforts expanded to include strawberry socials, the famous turkey dinners, bake sales, and the catering of social functions with the food coming from the kitchen of Betty Gordon. They also ran the concession stand at the old arena for years.
In 1959, the branch started a blood clinic and, in 1960, the auxiliary took it over and ran it until 1982. They started a home for special care and organized social bingo nights in aid of the local mental health authorities.
The bursary program, of which I was a recipient, was taken over and administered by the auxiliary, providing much needed funding for the graduates of the local high schools.
You will often see them out selling poppies and they raise funds for the many Legion-driven programs such as their support of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides.
If you have ever had occasion to be in the hospital, you likely saw the hospital cart that travels around the facility. That service began in 1957 under the auspices of the Ladies Auxiliary. They are also responsible for the Legion’s presence in local parades.
It would seem to me the group has outgrown the term ‘auxiliary,’ which means secondary or backup, as it clearly is a full partner in the local Legion’s presence in our community.
I hope you have enjoyed my look at the local Legion, and I hope to profile many more local organizations in the future. I would also suggest you go back and read some of my earlier columns profiling other local organizations.
Sources: Newmarket Era; Newmarket’s Military Camp, by George Luesby; Newmarket Legion Branch 426’s 40th-anniversary program; The History of Newmarket, by Ethel Trewhella; Stories of Newmarket: An Old Ontario Town, by Robert Terence Carter, 1857-1957 Newmarket Centennial, by John Luck
Newmarket resident Richard MacLeod, the History Hound, has been a local historian for more than 40 years. He writes a weekly feature about our town’s history in partnership with Newmarket Today, conducts heritage lectures and walking tours of local interest, and leads local oral history interviews.
