The Pender Harbour branch of the Royal Canadian Legion started in June of 1946. In May of 1951, a house was hauled to Madeira Park Road to become "The Legion Hut."
In 1953 it was decided the hall was too small so when a member left Pender Harbour, the Legion bought his bungalow, tore all of the partitions down and made two bathrooms and a bar to create the new Pender Harbour Legion. The building stood just south of the present Legion cenotaph. In 1959 the Legion moved a big logging camp dining room to a spot just north of the present memorial. The present building was officially opened on Nov. 23, 1974.
When I was a kid, the Legion seemed to be the place. I lived nearby so I’d often ride my bike past or play in the nearby creek. I rarely paid attention to the number of cars parked outside but it always seemed busy.
Maybe the best thing about living near the Legion was that it wasn’t uncommon to find a few of my best friends hanging out in the parking lot after school or on weekends. Three boys. Three trucks. All parked beside each other, waiting patiently for their dads (and one mom) to pull themselves away from the beer tap.
Sometimes the kids were told to meet there after school and it seemed perfectly normal for one or all three of the boys from my class to walk home from the elementary school with me, stopping at their parents’ trucks as I carried on home through the field beside the lot. I’d often come back and hang out with the boys who quickly became oblivious to the empty promises of "I’ll be out in half an hour."
But they weren’t totally abandoned. The parents would come out to check on them every once in awhile, heroically carrying an armload of potato chip bags. And sometimes, after the kids spent a really long time in the parking lot, there was a chance they’d get to drive home. It seemed a pretty good deal all around.
But the Legion isn’t as busy as it once was. There are fewer veterans every year and, for many, the hysteria over drinking and driving has taken the fun out of "going for the one." Communities all across the country are grappling with the possibility of Legion closures. If that happens here, I’m told the property will revert to Pacific Command and the property will likely be sold.
It’s unclear what would happen to the cenotaph but it’s hard to imagine any developer taking a jack hammer to it to make way for more parking. It’s important to keep in mind that, apart from its symbolic significance, the Legion relies on beer sales to stay open. The location of Remembrance Day ceremonies may change but the respect and sentiment offered to our veterans will remain long after the building itself crumbles.
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