Fort Erie Legion marks century of service with cross-border tribute

Royal Canadian Legion Branch 71 marked its 100th anniversary Saturday with members, community leaders and fellow Legion members from both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.

The celebration at the branch’s Garrison Road hall included speeches, presentations, live music and a barbecue as the Fort Erie branch recognized a century in the community.

Branch president Murray Morlog opened the ceremony before introducing Mayor Wayne Redekop, who presented a certificate of congratulations.

“The organization is important because it has supported veterans over that 100 years,” Redekop said in remarks recorded by Fort Erie Radio. “But equally important, it has also supported the families of those veterans who have served our country.”

Redekop also recognized the role community members have taken on as the number of veterans within Legion branches has declined.

Regional Councillor Tom Insinna, who is a Branch 71 member, and spent 30 years with the RCMP, spoke on behalf of Niagara Region.

Insinna recalled first becoming familiar with the Legion while serving with the RCMP in Newfoundland and said he later came to understand the role branches play beyond serving veterans.

“It’s unbelievable the impact you have, all the volunteers and everybody else that helps out, on the community itself,” Insinna said.

The anniversary also drew representatives from the American Legion across the Niagara River.

Nicholas Scott, commander of Milton J. Brounshidle American Legion Post 205 in Kenmore, New York, told those gathered the two organizations share many of the same values despite being in different countries.

“Irrespective of which side of the border we call home, we are bonded together in joint stewardship of those tenets,” Scott said.

He pointed to the longstanding military relationship between Canada and the United States and the shared work of the two Legion organizations supporting veterans and their communities.

Branch 71 opened in 1926, the same year the Royal Canadian Legion was incorporated by Parliament.

Fort Erie Radio previously reported the branch was first based near Murray and Bertie streets before moving into the old town hall on Queen Street. It moved into its current home at 130 Garrison Rd. in 1989.

Saturday’s celebration also recognized the veterans crosswalk outside the branch at Legion Way and Garrison Road.

The red-and-white crossing, featuring the silhouette of a soldier and the words “Lest we forget,” was installed by the Town of Fort Erie in July after Branch 71 and Branch 230 in Ridgeway proposed commemorative crossings several years earlier.

The branch also used its anniversary weekend to give back to the community.

Branch 71 distributed $58,000 raised through lottery and bingo games to Fort Erie’s three youth cadet corps, Meals on Wheels, COPE Fort Erie, Strong Fort Erie Neighbourhoods and the Royal Canadian Legion Band.

The branch’s centennial comes during the Royal Canadian Legion’s own 100th anniversary year. The national organization was incorporated on July 17, 1926.

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