The tank that had stood outside the Olds legion since 1993 was replaced on Thursday with one that has ties to Olds.
The Sherman tank was replaced with an “Easy 8” model, used by B squadron, an Olds unit that trained with other such tanks following the conclusion of the Second World War.
“There were four ‘Easy 8' Shermans that were used by reserve units in Olds. So the same type of tank we just put in, in the '50s and '60s, that's the tank that was stationed in Olds,” said Warrant Officer Ted MacLeod, curator of the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) Regimental museum.
“We had that particular tank come up as excess to need (at the museum), so we discussed at some length, it's now extra, what do we do with it?” he said.
Chris Schaper, past president of the legion, said he talked to Anne Lindsay, McLeod's wife, about the tank being excess to the museum. Schaper went to the executive of the local branch, who were in favour of getting the machine. The general membership also voted to accept the tank. The process took about three months from the time Schaper initially made contact with Lindsay.
Schaper said the idea for getting the Easy 8 was simple.
“It's totally Canadian and it has historical value to (the) Olds legion and to Calgary,” he said.
"We had that particular tank come up as excess to need (at the museum), so we discussed at some length, it's now extra, what do we do with it?"Warrant Officer Ted MacLeod, curator of the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) Regimental museum.
