Recently, the Ladies Auxiliary of the Royal Canadian Legion McGrane Branch #28 in Lac La Biche ended its charter after 63 years in existence. The auxiliary groups operate independently from the local Legion branches, but support the branches, programming and members.
The current Lac La Biche auxiliary membership — some who are founding members — say a lack of new recruits, volunteer-burnout for those involved, and financial strains all contributed to the very difficult decision to shutter the group.
The auxiliary was formed in June of 1960 as a support branch for the Legion, whose membership at that time was comprised largely of World War II veterans.
Out of the original 21 charter members of the Lac La Biche Legion Ladies Auxiliary, Sophie Hamar and Wardene Whitford are the only two who remain. When the organization was initially founded, Hamar explained, most of the women who joined had immediate family members — mostly husbands — who were military veterans. And some of those veterans were from the First World War, said Hamar, highlighting the long history of Canada's military sacrifices, the Legion organization and the local ladies' auxiliary.
“In the early 1960s, there were still a number of World War I veterans alive,” Hamar recalled. “I remember making soup at home and bringing it to them."
Supporting veterans, keeping awareness for Canada's military in the spotlight and fundraising for the local Legion were all very important roles for the local charter over the years. It has been a wonderful experience, said Hamar, who was joined by auxiliary members Raymonde Lett and Bev Bosse last week to formally announce the closing of the chapter.
Bosse, who joined in 1969, said being a member of the auxiliary has enabled her to form many lasting friendships..Some of her best memories are of attending provincial and national conferences and drawing on the support of women from all walks of life who share the same passions.
“I had the opportunity to get to know many members from branches all over Alberta,” Bosse said. “But I especially enjoyed the Dominion Conventions, where we met auxiliary members from all over Canada.”
Hamar says there has always been a sense of pride being an auxiliary member.
“It wasn’t the easiest club to get into,” Hamar recalled, adding that to become a member, you had to have either a spouse, parent or brother who had served in the armed forces. “I was able to join because of my brother, who served in the Canadian Army in Europe during the Second World War.”
Helping hands
Dressed in navy blue jackets and berets, white skirts and shoes, the ladies auxiliary has had a visible presence around the Lac La Biche region during their decades of service, especially on November 11, when members march in the annual Remembrance Day parade alongside their counterparts in the armed forces, cadets, and RCMP.
Over the past 63 years, the auxiliary’s dedication to supporting Lac La Biche's Royal Canadian Legion McGrane Branch #28 has been unwavering. The ladies have done everything from holding bazaars and bingos to tea parties and even catering weddings, funerals, and other events in order to raise money for the branch. Much of the money raised has been used for improvements and repairs to the Legion building, programming and many community donations.
The group’s fundraising efforts paid for the lookout platform along the Lac La Biche lakeshore that has been part of the beach-front for more than two decades. The ladies auxiliary also has its name on student scholarships, and donations to the 2995 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, Lacalta Lodge, and Lac La Biche's W.J. Cadzow Hospital.
Though a lot of their work has been done behind the scenes to secure funding and support for local initiatives, the members of the ladies auxilliary have also been in nursing homes to visit veterans and family members of veterans. Members have also been fixtures in local schools, accompanying veterans or making presentations to students about Canada's military history and the lives and sacrifices of the men and women of the county's armed forces.
In more recent decades, the local auxiliary started the practice of placing poppies on the local graves of veterans, inviting students and youth groups to join them.
They've done a lot — but it's time for it to come to an end ... sadly ... says Hamar.
In this busy day and age, she says, people quite often have neither the time nor the energy to devote several hours a week to volunteering. As a consequence, the shortage of volunteers has had a profound effect on time-honored, renowned community organizations such as the ladies auxiliary. In recent years the group has dwindled to less than 10 local woman — most who ar well into their senior years.
With no new blood coming in to replace an aging and dwindling membership, and unable to meet certain financial challenges, this past May, the executive met and made the very difficult decision to relinquish their charter.
Bosse hopes the community will remember the work that the auxiliary has done, and the continuing role of the Royal Canadian Legion.
“It’s a sad day when you have to give up your charter,” Bosse said. “Regrettably, many people have forgotten the important role legions play in our society and that our auxiliary kept the local branch viable for all those decades.”
Raymonde Lett, who was the group's president for their final meeting, has been a member since 1979. She enjoyed her time in the auxiliary. In a Lakeland This Week article from 2020, celebrating the 60th year of the auxiliary in the community, Lett hoped more new faces would join their organization to keep it going strong. Unfortunately, three years later, she is echoing Bosse’s sentiments, saying that despite efforts to keep the group in operation, it simply was no longer feasible.
She said Lac La Biche is just one of dozens of long-serving auxiliary organizations that are being forced to shut down.
“Because we cannot find enough younger women to volunteer, auxiliaries are shutting down all across Canada, not just here,” Lett said.
The Lac La Biche Legion does have a fundraising committee that has worked alongside the auxiliary in previous years. The local Legion is currently planning long-awaited upgrades to its building. Legion officials have recently been trying to secure municipal funding for a projected $100,000 upgrade to the building.
