INNISFAIL – Shortly after Don Harrison became the manager of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 in Innisfail five years ago, he noticed something he believed was not quite right in the Club Room.
Kids 18 years old and younger had to leave at 8 p.m., even if they were accompanied by their grandparents.
“And I said, ‘well, why? I have a grandson that's 16 years old and he's bigger than any of us in this room and he wants to play pool with grandpa, and he's got to leave,” said Harrison.
“He's 16 and he's got a driver's licence and all of a sudden he's got to go home. Where’s grandpa going to go? Grandpa is going to go home with him, right?”
Harrison said he brought up the early exit rule for youth to the executive and after “very healthy debate” the house rule was changed to allow kids 18 and younger to stay with the adults.
That was a historic decision for any Royal Canadian Legion, and Harrison, who later left his managerial post for a few years but has recently returned, is now about to oversee another huge change.
This time the change is for Remembrance Day.
Youth 18 years and under will be allowed to join veterans in the early afternoon on Nov. 11 following the Remembrance Day ceremony at the downtown cenotaph.
The cenotaph ceremony will begin at its traditional time at around 10:30 a.m. with a parade from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 to the cenotaph. At 11 a.m. there will be a moment of silence to honour the sacrifice of veterans.
From about 11:15 to 1 p.m. dignitaries and veterans will meet and chat inside the branch's Club Room.
And at 1 p.m. the doors will be open for the public, allowing the young to mingle with veterans. It will be the first time in the local Royal Canadian Legion's 90-year history this has been done on Remembrance Day.
“It’s a celebration. It's a very important day in all our lives. It's all about our freedoms,” said Harrison. “And you know we had veterans who sacrificed, both for sovereignty and the country, and we need to get our youth involved, to understand our history, and to go forth with it. To me, it's very, very important.”
Harrison said he believes veterans will respond positively to the new Remembrance Day initiative.
“They see the future in the Legion is in our youth. So, I think they'll then endorse it. Our executive has endorsed it,” said Harrison. “We're going to go forth and if there's a big pushback, I guess we'll have to change it."
“But I really think they'll understand and it's a family event,” he added. “We have live entertainment. We have a band. We have that socializing as a family group. We are one large family.”
Harrison added the move is also being made to attract a new generation of members.
Historically, the Innisfail branch over the past decade has had either the third or fourth largest branch membership in the country but the numbers have been declining, and even more so through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You come on a Friday or Saturday night, or any night, and you'll see children in here. They're sitting with their parents. They're up dancing when we have a band. You know the little girls love to dance. It's just a family atmosphere,” said Harrison.
“We're into the schools and we have a whole remembrance program with posters and poems, and the literary program. So, here's another way. Come on down and be with mom and dad and play some pool, play cards, and listen to our music.”
