A meeting of ex-servicemen from Flin Flon and vicinity was held on Oct. 7, 1929.
On that date, preparations were made to apply for a charter to establish a branch of the Canadian Legion, British Empire Service League, an organization formed following the First World War armistice.
Having decided to stage a banquet for members and guests on Nov.11, the men found it necessary to seek repeal of an order-in-council prohibiting the possession of liquor in an area where a railway was being constructed.
The action was successfully carried out in time for the members participating to each be assessed $2 for the purchase of one case of whiskey and two barrels of beer – refreshments for the banquet held in the Stag Pool Room.
The affair must have been an unqualified success, for the Flin Flon Branch, Canadian Legion, B.E.S.L., was launched with membership recorded at 38 during the first year, 1929.
Nine charter members included Dr. Ernest J. Kelly, who had served in the Canadian Army Dental Corps, and was the first dentist to set up practice in Flin Flon.
“Doc,” as he was commonly known, took an active part in civic affairs in the new mining town, and served as president of the Legion branch in its initial year.
Patrick Houlihan, an operator in the HBM&S crusher in his later years with the company, was a blacksmith’s helper and sometime prospector when he served as charter vice-president of the Legion.
Arthur Charles Horne, a 78th Battalion veteran, was on the charter executive of the Legion as secretary-treasurer, and later helped organize the Ladies Auxiliary to the Legion.
Military man
Among the other original members of Branch No. 73 was W.S.B. Lockhart. Lockhart was a military man to the core and could be relied upon as a source of information, history and opinion in matters relating to Legion functions.
In 1967, Canada’s centennial year, Lockhart received a 35-year Legion button and was awarded life membership in the branch.
As the branch flourished, it became necessary to hire a manager to tend the varied services provided for within the framework of Legion activities.
Fred M. Ledieu, secretary of the branch, was manager in 1973 and served with Past-President Gordon McIntyre; President Jim Hill; Vice-President Doug Donoghue; Second Vice-President Ron Highfield; Treasurer Ed Paull; a committee made up of Reg Bassham, Stan Willis, Ken Smith, Fred Baginski, J.F. Thompson, Alex Krassilowsky, Stan Cox, Frank Krepps, Lyal Ford, and the ex-service women’s representative, Helen Imrie.
The Legion had grown vigorously from its early days when headquarters was a 14-by-20-ft tent stretched over a framework. The location was at the north end of Hapnot Street, where post office requirements soon forced a move, resulting in the branch moving to a location at 73 Hapnot Street.
Throughout the winter months of 1932, activities organized by Legion members included a show, “Is Marriage a Failure?”. Also, a boxing match in the community hall was sponsored and a football club was proposed.
As March 1932, arrived, the Legion members were obtaining specifications for a clubhouse and club licence.
By the following summer, the branch was embarking on further building and expansion projects as the hall gained importance among an increasing membership.
A number of continuing projects were undertaken, several to be abandoned as interest and enthusiasm waned, while new, more timely projects were introduced.
Source: Flin Flon (book)
