TOUCHING BASE WITH OUR MEMBERS

Editor Paul Raymond

A Special Thank You to all those who contributed

Executive Committee

President	Derek Mills	519-658-0532
1^st Vice President	Genny Stewart	519-740-0755
2^nd Vice President
Past President	Jim Antoine	519-740-9926
Secretary	Barb Williams	519-621-2207		bwilliams2207@rogers.com
Treasurer	Jim Antoine	519-740-9926
Committee Chairs
PRO -Bulletin	Paul Raymond		519-621-4976	pauldraymond@sympatico.ca
Entertainment	Yvonne Power		519-624-1140	yvonnepower@yahoo.ca
House and Property	Doug Pratt		519-621-6224	dougpratt@sympatico.ca
Leadership and Planning	Paul Raymond			pauldraymond@sympatico.ca
Membership	Doug Livingstone		519-621-2593	dougl@rmiinc.ca
Nevada	Marian Byrne		519-740-7409
Poppy	Mary Murrin		519-624-0658	mmurrin@gmail.com
Seniors	Jim Keillor		519-740-2165
Sergeant at Arms	Dianne Jackman		519-622-3989	alanddi@rogers.com
Service Officer	Ron Elvin		519-620-9335
Share the Wealth	Lillian Secord		519-621-9689
Sick and Visiting
Sports	Wanda Walsh		519-650-7448	perryandwanda@hotmail.com
Track and Field
Youth Education	Marian Byrne		519-740-7409
Ladies Auxiliary
President	Dianne Jackman	519-622-3989		alanddi@rogers.com
1^st Vice President	Shirley Graves	519-623-5561
2^nd Vice President	Joan Laidlaw	519-621-2168		joanlaidlaw@sympatico.ca
Sick and Visiting	Vie Gooch Cora Brousse	519-621-6223 519-621-1536
Entertainment	Yvonne Power	519-624-1140		yvonnepower@yahoo.ca
Secretary	Yvonne Power	519-624-1140		yvonnepower@yahoo.ca
Treasurer	Linda Miles	519-621-4944
Membership	Joan Laidlaw	519-621-2168
Sports	Sharon Chapelle	519-740-9476
Sergeant at Arms	Carol Rothwell	519-621-4976

Last Post

THEY SHALL GROW NOT OLD AS WE THAT ARE LEFT GROW OLD; AGE SHALL NOT WEARY THEM NOR THE YEARS CONDEMN. AT THE GOING DOWN OF THE SUN AND IN THE MORNING, WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Branch President Report

Dear Comrades

Spring has arrived, so we know that summer is not far off. I think that all the sports leagues are coming to the end as well. But this summer our Sports Officer Wanda say’s that we will be having lots of special events for darts, cribbage, snooker, shuffleboard, euchre etc. If you would like to play or learn how to play shuffleboard, contact Tony Dwyzer. Our first parade this year will be the “Battle of the Atlantic”, Sunday May 4^th. See the sign up sheet on the notice board. Please try to attend.

Yours in Comradeship

Derek Mills

President Br 121

“THEY SERVED TILL DEATH, WHY NOT WE?”

Ladies Auxiliary President

Hello Comrades:

Hope you are loving this nice weather, just to remind you of our next breakfast on Mothers Day May 11th from 9.00 to 11.00, so all you dads and children remember to be good to Mom and give her a break from cooking.

We are looking for helpers once a month to help with the breakfast if you would like to help just let myself or Shirley Graves know and we will be glad of your help. By the time you get this report our penny sale will be over so I would like to say thanks to all the people that helped, and donated things to the sale. I would like to thank Yvonne for all the hard work she did.

Also remember we are always looking for you ladies to join our L.A. so please think about it, really is a good group to belong to. Our next general meeting is May 5th 08 at 7.30.

I hope to see all the ladies out for the meeting. I heard that you all enjoyed your supper at the Veterans dinner it was nice to see so many people out, also good to hear nice things about our cooking, we aim to please.

Yours in Comradeship

Dianne Jackman, President Ladies Auxiliary

.

Sports

Attention all golfers and want to be golfers. We are trying to put together our annual fun day golf tournament and the scheduled date is July 19th at Grand Valley with a shot gun, tee off time of 7:30 am. Based on our current plans it is expected to be a fun day and we need your support to put in a team of 4 golfers. Remember that prizes will be distributed based on
attendance not performance so everyone will have the same chances. The cost will be $40.00 per player (carts are your choice and extra), lunch, which is included, will be served at the legion after the event. This will be a best ball format so you can get your group together for some fun and a good laugh or two. We are working hard at having some decent prizes available but it will partially be dependant on your participation. There will be closest to the pin contests for both ladies and gents, and special closest to the pin on the 10th hole for tickets sold separately, along with door prizes and perhaps even a small silent auction. We need at minimum of 18 teams to make this work but can accommodate up to 36 teams which would be great. There will be a sign up sheet posted downstairs and we hope to get as many members as possible out for this day.
The sports committee will also be approaching many of you directly to see if we can get you and your friends entered as soon as possible, or you can speak to us at your convenience. This is another event that is always asked about, so don't let us down this year, come on out to support the sports committee and have some fun.

Seniors

Well we are now into Summer (I hope) and I would like to think we are all enjoying the nice weather. Hoping it will bring more people out on Wednesday’s to our get together. Although we are still averaging about 60 people, our Seniors committee would like to see those numbers increase. We had a gentleman do a seminar on DISABILITY TAX ALLOWANCES a couple of weeks ago, very interesting stuff; I guess most people don’t know about. Just a pity more people did not take advantage of this person’s knowledge of the subject.

Last day of Seniors before summer recess June 25/2008. Restart September 3/2008

Jim Keillor - Seniors Chairman.

Peter Kanis - Seniors Co-chair.

House & Property

This past month we have had two more donations from groups and members. The first came from the Friday Nite Dart League and was used for tiles. The second comes from Lynn Derbyshire, owner of Gardens of Grandeur and consists of a donation of bedding plants. Lynn has also been down to the branch to clean out the front gardens. Thanks to both groups. We are talking to the city about the front lawn and are hoping they will do something about the weed bed as it is their property. Have spoken to Ben Tucci and should hear back in a week or so.

"Smokers" please use the ash containers, thanks.

Yours in Comradeship

Doug & Bill

Share the Wealth

I would like to congratulate the winners of our monthly "Share the Wealth Draw".

April Winners

First Place Lucy Braga Ticket #0309

Second Place Susie Daniels Ticket #0334

Anyone wishing to help sell "Share the Wealth" tickets or get some of the spare books please contact Lillian or Leo Secord at 519-621-9689.

Thank You

Lillian Secord - Chairwoman

Membership

Comrades All,

We are moving ahead slowly but had another 6 new members initiated last month and have already another 6 or 7 ready for next month. We have time if there are anymore potential members out there that want to be initiated on that date. Application forms are available at the bar.

Well, rumor has it that we will be having a fun golf day this coming July and you can see the details in the sports chairpersons report in this bulletin. We too often hear that we do not do enough for the members but sometimes the executive feels that the members do not support the events we try to put on for you. This fun day could be a roaring success if we can start to get more of the branch to come out and participate without considering it as a competition but just a way of being involved. The costs are no more than you would pay if you were going out on your own and you have the opportunity to mix it up with some of your comrades.

As you well know, things at the branch can sometimes get a little hectic but we should all be doing our little share to keep things going, as the only real winner or loser is the legion and its members, based on how we support the efforts of the executive chairpersons. The aim of this executive is to make every effort to follow the demands and wishes of you, the general body and even though at times it may not seem that way, we are working hard at keeping the branch active. Instead of looking at us as a bunch of ducks floating on a pond, try to realize under the water we are paddling like crazy. Let’s get some sort of appreciation going by getting involved with the efforts of these people for a couple of months and you may even find out your having a good time based on the efforts of your executive.

You should remember that this executive has about another year to go before you, the membership select again and if you expect many of the current staff to run again, it will take your support to let them know their efforts are appreciated. One of the hardest things in life is to know which bridges to cross and which ones to burn. Hope to hear many of you will be signing up to play golf.

We have the members’ golf fun day coming up as well as the weekly golf league to get many members out together. It is rumored that the fun day promises to be a great day with lunch and substantial prizes for all, so keep your eye open for the announcement and date.

Yours in Comradeship,

Doug Livingstone

Membership Chairman

L.A. Sports

We are still looking for three dart players for the tournament on September 6^th in Stratford. If you are interested, please contact me. We will be running the L.A. euchre through the summer this year. This will help us raise funds for our sports. So if you have nothing else to do, come down to the Branch and play Euchre. Summer dates, Jul 19^th and August 16^th.

Yours in Comradeship,

Sharon Chapelle, Sports Officer (519) 740-9476

Linda Miles, Co-Chair (519) 621-4944

VETERANS BANQUET

Branch 121 held a very successful Veterans Banquet on Saturday, April 12, 2008. It was the 9^th banquet held, the first being held in 2000.The turnout was excellent, the hall filled almost to its maximum of 120. The organizing committee worked very hard on these preparations and was most pleased with the results.

Our Master of Ceremonies for the evening was Comrade Peter Kanis. He did a great job! Thank you, Peter. Our guest speaker was Comrade Len Baxter, a WWII veteran. He spoke about a subject very dear to his heart, a Veterans Care facility in Waterloo Region, which he and his supporters have been working on for nearly three years. Thank you Len for updating us on this most important subject. Another hi-light of the evening was the presentation of a commemorative 50^th anniversary D-Day medal from MP Gary Goodyear to Comrade Ed Winn. Even Gary Goodyear exclaimed that it was one of the most exciting presentations he had ever made. Congratulations, Ed!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who in any way helped with the preparations prior to the banquet and during the banquet. Every single one of you did a fantastic job. This banquet could not have been the success it was without your support!

In closing, one more BIG thanks goes out to ALL OUR VETERANS who, without them where would we be?

Yours in Comradeship,

Bonnie Kitchen, Chairperson

Committee: Peter Kanis, Mary and Brian Murrin,

Derek Mills, George Vallis, Marian Byrne

Honours and Awards

The awards ceremony will be held Friday, May 30, 2008 in the Memorial Hall. We are still looking for recommendations for Certificates of Appreciation. This is your opportunity to honour those who have assisted in the week by week running of the activities in the Branch and to honour members of your committee. We are also still looking for citations for Member of the Year describing your reasons for nominating your choice to be given this award. Please contact a member of the committee if you have any nominees to propose or any questions, and please be sure all requests are received by May 10, 2008

John Quin Bonnie Kitchen Barbara Williams Wanda Walsh

You’ve got Mail!

If any of you have ever been to a military funeral in which taps were played; this brings out a new meaning of it. Here is something Every American should know. Until I read this, I didn't know, but I checked it out and it's true:
Those in the United States have all heard the haunting song, 'Taps'. It's the song that gives us that lump in our throats and usually tears in our eyes. But, do you know the story behind the song? If not, I think you will be interested to find out about its humble beginnings. Reportedly , it all began in 1862 during the Civil War, when Union Army Captain Robert Ellicombe was with his men near Harrison 's Landing in Virginia The Confederate Army was on the other side of the narrow strip of land. During the night, Captain Ellicombe heard the moans of a soldier who lay severely wounded on the field. Not knowing if it was a Union or Confederate soldier, the Captain decided to risk his life and bring the stricken man back for medical attention Crawling on his stomach through the gunfire, the Captain reached the stricken soldier and began pulling him toward his encampment. When the Captain finally reached his own lines, he discovered it was actually a Confederate soldier, but the soldier was dead. The Captain lit a lantern and suddenly caught his breath and went numb with shock. In the dim light he saw the face of the soldier. It was his own son. The boy had been studying music in the South when the war broke out. Without telling his father, the boy enlisted in the Confederate Army. The following morning, heartbroken, the father asked permission of his superiors to give his son a full military burial, despite his enemy status.
His request was only partially granted. The Captain had asked if he could have a group of Army band members play a funeral dirge for his son at the funeral. The request was turned down since the soldier was a Confederate. But, out of respect for the father, they did say they could give him only one musician. The Captain chose a bugler. He asked the bugler to play a series of musical notes he had found on a piece of paper in the pocket of the dead youth's uniform. This wish was granted. The haunting melody, we now know as 'Taps' used at military funerals was born.

The words are: Day is done. Gone the sun. From the lakes. From the hills. From the sky.
All is well. Safely rest. God is nigh.

Fading light. Dims the sight. And a star. Gems the sky.
Gleaming bright. From afar. Drawing nigh. Falls the night.
Thanks and praise. For our days. Neath the sun. Neath the stars.
Neath the sky. As we go. This we know. God is nigh

I too have felt the chills while listening to 'Taps' but I have never seen all the words to the song until now. I didn't even know there was more than one verse. I also never knew the story behind the song and I didn't know if you had either so I thought I'd pass it along. I now have an even deeper respect for the song than I did before. Remember Those Lost and Harmed While Serving Their Country. Also Remember Those Who Have Served And Returned; and for those presently serving in the Armed Forces.

Submitted by Don Taylor

THE WORLD IS MINE

Today upon a bus I saw a girl with golden hair;

She seemed so gay; I envied her, and wish that I were half so fair;

I watched her as she rose to leave, and saw her hobble down the aisle.

She had one leg and wore a crutch, but as she passed…. A smile.

Oh, God, forgive me when I whine;

I have two legs… the world is mine.

Later on I bought some sweets. The boy who sold them had such charm,

I thought I’d stop and talk awhile. If I were late, T’would do no harm.

And as we talked he said, “Thank you sir, you’ve really been so kind.

It’s nice to talk to folks like you because, you see I’m blind.”

Oh God forgive me when I whine;

I have two eyes… the world is mine.

Later, walking down the street, I met a boy with eyes so blue.

But he stood and watched others play; it seemed he knew not what to do.

I paused, and then I said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?”

But he looked straight ahead without a word, and then I knew he couldn’t hear.

Oh God forgive me when I whine;

I have two ears… the world is mine.

Two legs to take me where I go,

Two eyes to see the sunset glow,

Two ears to hear all I should know,

Oh God forgive me when I whine;

I’m blest, indeed the world is mine.

Dr. Tennyson Guyer

Submitted by Derek Mills

Grandma’s Apron

The principal use of Grandma’s apron was to protect the dress underneath, but along with that, it served as a holder for removing pots from the oven. It was wonderful for drying children’s tears, and on occasion was even used for cleaning dirty ears.

From the chicken-coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs, fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished warming over the oven. When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy kids. And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her arms. Those big old aprons wiped away many a perspiring brow, bent over the hot wood stove.

Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that apron. From the garden it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls. In the fall, the apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.

When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how much furniture that old apron could dust up in a matter of seconds.

When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved her apron, and the Men knew it was time to come in from the fields for dinner. It will be a long time before someone invents something that will replace that “old-time apron” that served so many purposes.

Reprinted from the St. Clements Church Bulletin.

Submitted by Susie Daniel

May 4	Battle of the Atlantic Parade
May 5	L.A. General Meeting
May 11	L.A. Euchre
May 17	L.A. Breakfast