Mar 15, 2016, Issue 39 - Fenelon Falls Legion 238

Fenelon Falls Legion Newsletter
Issue 39 March 15, 2016
N
In this issue:
ew subscribers: Welcome! It is our intention to publish this newsletter around the
1st and 15th of each month to keep you aware of news and events at your Branch.
While this newsletter is primarily for members of the Fenelon Falls Legion, it is also available to the community of Fenelon Falls, so that you may also be aware of events at our
Branch. You are welcome to visit our Branch, and indeed become a member. Contrary to a
long-held belief, you no longer need to be a veteran or related to a veteran to join—any
Canadian citizen is now eligible to become a member of the Royal Canadian Legion. Please
drop in and speak with us about this opportunity.
Branch Hours
1
General Meeting
1
President’s Message
2
St. Patrick’s Day
2
Bingo Balls
3
A Tale of Two Sites
4
An Irish Tale
4/5
Soldiers Honoured
6
RCL Executive Salaries
6
Mini Interview
7
Website Updates
7
New Members
7
Zone Sports
7
Event Posters
8
Thursday - 11:30 am - 6:00 pm (open 2nd Thursday to about 9:30 pm for General Meeting)
Legion Supply
9
Friday - 11:30 am - 8:00 pm, unless there is a night function, ie Pub Night, Hall Rental , etc.
Bursary Assistance Program
10
Tax Preparation Clinic
11
Legion Sports Schedule
12
Coming Events
13
Hot Lunch Menu
13
Cartoon
13
Last Post
14
If this newsletter was forwarded to you, and you would like to subscribe, refer to the last
page. At any time, you can opt-out — see the last page for contact information.
Copies of this and previous newsletters can be found on our website.
Branch Hours
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday - 12:00 noon - 10:00 pm-ish (depending on when sports
leagues, bingo etc. finish)
Saturday - 12:00 noon - 6:00 pm unless there is a function or Hall Rental
Sunday - 12:00 noon - 6:00 pm
General Meeting
T
he next general Meeting will be on Thursday, April 14th, at 7:30 pm. Just a reminder,
that this meeting is Nominations night. Please read the President’s message on the
next page!
A message from the President
St. Patrick’s Day
ext month's meeting
will be our Nomination Meeting. Now is the
time to give some thought to
the future of our Branch, and
whether you feel you have a
contribution to make to its
well-being. If you are considering allowing your name to
stand for office, feel free to
approach anyone on the Executive if you have any questions. Don't be deterred by
what you might perceive as a lack of knowledge. I can tell you
with great certainty that not one of us here knew a darn thing
when we started (and some might say we still don't know
much), but your value is not in your Legion knowledge, but
rather in your enthusiasm to tackle new challenges and your
dedication to our Branch.
ust a reminder that Thursday, March 17th is St. Patrick’s
Day, and the Branch will be hosting a “green” party from 1
pm to 5 pm. Lots of entertainment and fun, green beer, and
don’t forget a corn beef and cabbage dinner is available. On
this special occasion, themed hats will be permitted to be
worn in the lounge. For more info, see the poster on page 8.
N
J
If you plan on nominating someone, we should get a couple of
things straight:
1.
2.
Don't nominate someone unless you have talked to them
about it beforehand. It is an embarrassment for them to
be centred out unexpectedly, and it slows down the
whole nomination process.
Make sure the person you are nominating is eligible to run
for office. They must have been a member of this Branch
for one year prior to the date of elections in order to run
for a position on the Executive, including Sgt-at-Arms. In
order to run for either President or a Vice President, they
must have served one term on this Branch's Executive.
The success of any Branch lies in its Executive's collective initiative, and the support of its members - together we are
stronger than the sum of our parts. I hope each of you will
continue to support the Branch, support the new Executive,
and be prepared to back up strong words in the clubroom with
positive action.
Want to publicize your event?
C
omrades, I try to bring you the latest information regarding events happening in and around your Branch,
but I cannot be everywhere. If you are running an event you
want to publicize, please send me the details and I will do my
best to let members know about it. A short report after your
event would also be very welcome, so we can inform other
members of your successes. Photos are always a bonus! Try to
get the information to me before the 1st and 15th of each
month. Send to: pleduc@gmail.com
We are finally getting ourselves back on firm ground, but the
future will pose many new challenges. We have to adapt to
change, and be ready to move ahead with resolve. Our goals,
as always, will remain: Care of our Veterans and their dependents, perpetuation of Remembrance, and support of our community - our youth, our seniors and those who need us.
Never let anything sway us from our purpose.
Page 2
I Now Have Clean Balls
Y
ou may or may not know, but I call the bingo on
Wednesday nights here at the Branch. You may also
know that as usual, we take break during the winter months,
as many of our regular players head south for the winter. The
good news is that bingo will be resuming next month!
If you are around on Wednesday nights, you know I have two
sets of balls: one for the main games and one for the Bonanza
game at the end of the night. Last year, Linda thought my main
balls were too dirty so she took them home and gave them a
good cleaning. Everyone was very pleased to see me with
clean balls!
Although our main bingo machine is old, it is not anywhere
near as old as the machine we use for the Bonanza game. In
fact, should we ever decide to get rid of this Bonanza machine,
we would do well to list in on Kijiji in the Antiques section –
who knows, there might be a ‘collector’ out there.
Anyway, during the Bingo winter hiatus, I decided to clean up
this old Bonanza machine. Quite frankly, it was filthy! The
number plate had a black foam rubber baffle adhered to its
underside, and over time, lots of time, the form had started to
disintegrate, and small pieces of black gooey stuff started
sticking to my balls. Since Linda cleaned my main set of balls, I
thought I would do the same for this older machine.
So I took my balls home and put them in the sink to soak in hot
soapy water. I had thought of putting them in the dishwasher,
but Linda advised against that as the high heat might have
damaged my balls. I then got a real stiff scrub brush and began
scrubbing my balls one at a time. As you can imagine, this was
a lot of work, and I got a sore back leaning over the sink. Even
scrubbing them with the brush did not completely remove the
decayed black foam crud.
I then had the idea of using a sharp knife to remove the remaining black stuff stuck on my balls. This worked, but you
can imagine how risky this was. The soapy water made my
balls slippery, and on a few occasions I almost cut myself.
However, I am happy to report that my second set of balls is
now perfectly clean, and I expect they, like the first set, will
now circulate more freely and evenly in the machine.
I also replaced the old black foam rubber baffle on the machine with a new, longer lasting foam, did some re-caulking
around the edges to prevent air loss, and replaced the bottom
cushion on the machine as well – it used to be a felt cloth to
dampen the noise, but it too was covered in the black sticky
mess from my balls.
So there you have it – looking forward to a new Bingo season
with clean balls next month! Hope to see you there!
(all puns intended!)
Page 3
A tale of Two Sites
O
n Saturday, March 5th, there were two interesting, but
contrasting articles in the Toronto Star.
The first was about the Prime Minister’s website, pm.gc.ca.
Public servants running the Prime Minister’s website want an
additional $600,000 to “modernize his digital presence”. The
funding requested by the Privy Council Office (PCO), which
provides non-partisan support to the prime minister and cabinet, would bring the price tag of operating the pm.gc.ca website to $1.6 million this year. Read more on this story here!
The second article was about Cape Breton. It seems that there
is growing concern among some Americans that Donald Trump
may actually become President—and they don’t like this. So
much so, that there has been an influx of queries to Canada
Immigration regarding moving and relocating to Canada.
Cape Breton picked up on this, and a local radio DJ, Rob Calabrese, created the “Cape Breton If Donald Trump Wins” website. He kicked it off by telling Americans if “you decide to get
the hell out of there, might I suggest moving to Cape Breton
Island!”
After Trump’s strong performance on Super Tuesday, Google
searches on “How to move to Canada” reportedly surged, with
the phrase’s popularity jumping 350 per cent between 8 p.m.
and midnight.
estimated that such an upgrade could be done for $10K to
$20K.
This takes me to a third site: Branch 238. I put up this site for
under $200, including the domain fee and the hosting server.
And it was using my own out-of-pocket money—my donation
to the Branch. Of course, I am not charging the Branch for my
work, here in this Newsletter or the Website—I do this out of
love for you and the Branch.
That said, you may have noticed that I have started to post
small business-card ads in this newsletter. Although there is
actually no real cost to producing and distributing the newsletter online, we will be using the revenues from these ads to
pay for annual fees related to the website.
And for this, I am very grateful to all our advertisers for your
support. I hope you realize a tangible benefit by placing your
ad in our small newsletter. THANK YOU!
A n Irish (war time) Story
M
onsignor Hugh O’Flaherty was an Irish priest who is
credited with saving more than 6,000 lives after he
helped Jews and Allied soldiers hide from the Nazis during
World War II.
Calabrese said he heard estimates 10 days ago (even before
CNN and Super Tuesday) that his website, a $28 investment,
has generated almost $15 million in free publicity. Read the
complete article here!
So what is the point of this article? Well, I wanted to show the
differences in sites and the differences in cost. On the one
hand, we have a beautiful site which is clean and simple, and
costs only $28 (I suspect the work was done for free, and
these costs were for the domain registration).
On the other hand we have a site that costs $1 million a year
to maintain, and possibly $600K more to upgrade, if approved.
True the PMO website is bilingual and has a lot more content.
But it is just that—content! We are not talking about using
skilled web developers; today websites are made so that content can be updated by anyone that can type—no special coding or similar skills are needed. So let’s assume they are using
10 people full time to update the content—that would be like
paying each one $100k a year.
Then there is the $600K upgrade—if you read the original artile in the Star, you will see that some seasoned developers
O’Flaherty hid thousands of people in a various farms, churchhouses and homes around Italy, risking his own life in the process. He has since be honoured for his brave actions, and his
story has been made into a film.
O’Flaherty was born in Killarney in 1898. He grew up on a golf
course in Cork, where his father worked. He joined Mungret
College in County Limerick in 1918 to study for the priesthood.
Once qualified, O’Flaherty was sent to Rome to work as a Vatican diplomat. He travelled the world visiting countries such as
Haiti, Egypt and Czechoslovakia.
In the early years of the Second World War, O’Flaherty travelled around Europe visiting Prisoner of War camps.
continued..
Page 4
Thousands were at risk of being captured by
Nazis
His ability to evade capture earned him the nickname of
‘Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican’.
He was in Italy at the time of the collapse of the Mussolini Empire. Thousands of Prisoners of War were released but at risk
of being recaptured by the Germans who had taken control of
the country. Many remembered O’Flaherty from his visits to
the camps and made their way to Rome to ask him for help in
escaping the Nazi regime in Italy.
O’Flaherty kept this up for two years before the Allied Forces
finally took control of Italy. When they arrived, there were
3,925 Prisoner of War escapees hiding in O’Flaherty safehouses. Thousands of Jews were also in his care. It is estimated that O’Flaherty and his allies saved the lives of six and a
half thousand people.
O’Flaherty organised safe-houses for thousands. He hid people
in farm buildings, church-houses and hundreds of private
homes in Italy. He had a network of people helping him. Delia
Murphy, the wife of the Irish ambassador, and Major Sam Derry, an escaped British Prisoner of War were two of O’Flaherty’s
key allies.
Once the war had ended, O’Flaherty stressed that Nazi prisoners should be treated properly and humanely by the Allied
Forces.
They also hid Jewish people from the Nazis in the same way.
Colonel Herbert Kappler was the head of police in Rome. He
was a Nazi and was tasked with capturing any Italian Jews and
transporting them to Auschwitz for execution. Kappler was
ruthlessly efficient at this job.
O’Flaherty and his associates managed to transport and hide
thousands of people in Italy.
Threat of torture and execution
The Nazis knew about this network of deception, and knew
that a priest was behind it. They kept a close watch on the
Vatican, until they eventually discovered that O’Flaherty was
the one concealing Jews.
Baptised the man who had wanted him dead
In the following years, he was honoured with numerous
awards for his actions. He continued with his humanitarian
work and visited prisoners around Europe. This led to a remarkable friendship between O’Flaherty and the man that had
once wanted him dead, former Nazi head of police Colonel
Herbert Kappler.
O’Flaherty visited him once a month in jail for several years,
and the two men became close friends. In 1959, Kappler converted to Catholicism and was baptised by O’Flaherty.
A year later, O’Flaherty suffered a stroke during a mass. His
health deteriorated and he returned to Ireland to live with his
sister. He died in 1965.
This is a statue of O’Flaherty in his home town of Killarney, to
honour him for his bravery in saving so many lives.
However, he continued to organise the massive operation of
hiding people. He knew that he was safe when in the Vatican,
as the Nazis could not kill him there.
O’Flaherty was wanted by the Nazis. Kappler ordered a white
line painted on the pavement at the opening of St. Peter’s
Square to mark the border of the Vatican City and Italy. Nazi
soldiers were under instructions to execute O’Flaherty on site
if he crossed the line.
Ludwig Koch of the Italian police vowed that should O’Flaherty
ever end up in his custody, he would not only be executed but
also tortured beforehand.
‘Scarlet Pimpernel of the Vatican’
Several unsuccessful attempts were made on O’Flaherty’s life,
but he was not deterred. Despite this severe intimidation,
O’Flaherty continued his work. He met his associates on the
safe ground of the Vatican when possible, and wore disguises
on the occasions he had to venture out.
Bursary Assistance Program
J
ust a reminder that anyone interested in the Legion Bursary
Assistance Program must apply by the last Friday in March.
Please refer to the flyer in this newsletter for complete details.
Page 5
Ceremonies across Canada
Royal Canadian Legion shoots
honour soldiers who died by
down bid to reveal details
suicide
about executives’ salaries
here was an article in the Globe and Mail regarding ceremonies that were to be held on Sunday, Feb. 21, 2016,
however, I was unable to find much more information other
than this article saying it was going to happen:
and travel
T
Military members who have died by suicide will be remembered at candlelight ceremonies in four provinces on Sunday –
part of a grassroots effort to ensure these men and women are
not forgotten.
The annual ceremonies, organized by a small group called Honour our Canadian Soldiers, began with a single event in February of 2013, drawing about 15 people to Pembroke in Eastern
Ontario. Group founder Lise Charron hopes to attract more
than 200 people to this year’s “Soldiers of Suicide” commemoration at Royal Canadian Legion branches in Thunder Bay, Waterloo, Que., Oromocto, N.B., Debert, N.S., and at the National Military Cemetery in Ottawa, where a red oak tree and a
simple bronze plaque memorialize the nation’s hidden military
casualties.
read more…
A
nd more “Legion in the News”, this time from the Ottawa Citizen:
An attempt to make Canada’s largest veterans organization
reveal details about its executives’ salaries and travel has been
shot down by its senior leadership.
The decision by the Royal Canadian Legion’s Dominion Command has prompted some of the organization’s long-time
members to question the state of accountability in the upper
levels of its leadership.
“I believe that the members across the country want to have
assurances that the very large amounts of monies required to
operate our organization are well spent,” Lorne Tyson, a Legion member from Winnipeg, wrote Jan. 21 to Jack Frost,
chairman of the Royal Canadian Legion’s Dominion Command.
Tyson has been informed the subject cannot be discussed or
even raised at the convention this summer in Newfoundland.
read more...
A follow up article from the Ottawa Sun was published on Sunday Feb. 21, 2016:
Soldiers lost to suicide 'part of our
family'
Jason Simon’s mother and father placed a red candle at Beechwood Cemetery on Sunday.
Theirs was one of several laid to honour Canadian soldiers who
have died by suicide.
The vigil — one of several across the country — was meant to
bring attention to the toll taken by PTSD.
Nearly 50 people, including Veterans Affairs Minister Kent
Hehr, braved the cold winds as the candles were placed around
an SOS plaque within the east end military cemetery.
read more...
Advertise with us...
Contact pleduc@gmail.com for more info
Page 6
Mini (self) Interview
E
ditor: So, I hear it was your birthday this past Saturday.. what did you do?
New Members
A

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



Paul: I went over to the Branch and did some painting.
Ed: What were you painting?
PL: I had repaired the cover of one of the dart boards and
painted it last week.
Ed: And?
PL: After painting it, I realized that it didn't match the other
covers.
t the March General Meeting, seven new members were
inducted and welcomed to the Branch:
Charles Olliffe
Deborah Olliffe
Jo Anne Greig
Ken Greig
Donna Stauffer
Peter Stauffer
Robert Grace
When you see them at the Branch, introduce yourself and
make the feel welcome to our community!
Ed: Wrong paint?
PL: No, the paint was a perfect match - it was just that the
others looked darker because they were dirty.
Legion Sports
B
PL: Yeah - the town!
obcaygeon hosted the Zone F4 Shuffle board games on
March 5th, with Lindsay and Fenelon acting as subbranches to handle to overflow. Fenelon fared well at these
games, with the team of Bill Beggs and Garry Rutherford taking 3rd place, while the team of Darlene Galley and Brenda
Campbell placed 4th—earning both teams a spot in the District
games held in Peterborough on March 12th.
Website Updates
Unfortunately, their luck ran out there, as both our teams
were knocked out of the District games. We congratulate them
from their performance in these games, and hope next year
will be a better year for Fenelon.
Ed: So?
PL: So I had to repaint the other covers and came in Saturday
to finish the job.
Ed: I hear next year is the big Seven-Oh for you.. planning to
paint anything next year?
T
here are a few updates to our website.
A new section for the Banquet Hall has been added to
the main menu, which gives some information about our hall
rentals and rates.
And a new page has been added to honour the 57 Fenelon
men who lost their lives in service to their country during
WWI. This new section can be found as a drop-down menu
item under the Last Post menu item. It is our intention to further expand on this, by adding links to each of these 57 which
will take you to a page with more information about each individual. I want to thank Arlene Colman for her extensive work
in researching the history and background of these local heroes.
Just a reminder that Fenelon will be hosting the F4 Zone Euchre on March 26th. I hear Fenelon has quite a few teams entered in this event. If you have some time, why not come out
and support your Branch.
Please see the chart on p. 12 for a complete listing of upcoming Legion Sports.
I would also like to advise our readers of a new contact email
address for the Branch: office@fenelonfallslegion.ca
As always, I welcome any comments about the website or this
newsletter.
Page 7
Meat Roll
T
his month the Meat Roll is March 19th!
Bingo Resumes April 6th
I
’d like to remind
everyone that Bingo
resumes next month on
Wednesday, April 6th.
Doors open at 5:15
pm, and the games
start at 6:45 pm, and
usually run to around
10 pm.
Bingo will continue every Wednesday now until December,
when we will again take a winter break. There may be some
exceptions for holidays and other special occasions—we will
announce any cancellations well in advance.
For those that went south for the winter, we welcome you
back. Actually, the winter was not that bad this year.
Page 8
Legion Supply
T
he new Legion Supply Catalogue for 2016 is now out, and contains updates and new items. It can be viewed online or at the
Branch. In addition, there is a new Beaumont-Hamel promotion out this month (see flyer below). The online store is for
members only so you will need your membership number in order to access the online catalogue.
While you can order directly from the Legion site, you will have to pay shipping fees in the order of 8 to 10 dollars—you can save
on shipping costs by ordering through the Branch. I submit orders twice a month as needed.
Silent Auction
A
new selection of items is now on the table for March bidding for this auction closes on the 31st. Anyone having new, or equivalent to new, items they wish to donate to
the table, please leave with the Bar Steward - Thanks!
Page 9
Page 10
Page 11
2016 Legion Sports Schedule
Sport
Division
Location
Date
Time
Snooker
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone *
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Zone
District
Provincial
Fenelon #238
Lakefield #077
Toronto #266/66
Coboconk #519
Pickering #606
Napanee #137
Brechin #488
Ajax #322
Port Credit #082
n/a
Oshawa #043
Falconbridge #336
Brechin #488
Campbellford #103
Burlington #060
Fenelon #238
Havelock #389
Angus #499
Lindsay #067
Cobourg #133
Smith Falls #095
Lindsay #067
Pickering #606
Sutton #356
Bobcaygeon #239
Peterborough #052
Kitchener #050
Lindsay #067
Port Hope #030
Brooklin #152
Fenelon #238
Belleville #099
Hawkesbury #472
Fenelon #238
Norwood #300
Cobourg #133
9-Jan
30-Jan
5-Mar
23-Jan
13-Feb
12-Mar
6-Feb
20-Feb
19-Mar
n/a
20-Mar
23-Apr
16-Jan
27-Feb
2-Apr
26-Mar
9-Apr
7-May
17-Apr
30-Apr
28-May
30-Apr
14-May
4-Jun
5-Mar
12-Mar
14-May
27-Feb
12-Mar
6-Aug
21-May
11-Jun
27-Aug
16-Jul
6-Aug
10-Sep
1100
1000
1000
1100
1200
1200
0900
0900
0900
n/a
1100
0900
1100
1000
1000
1100
1200
1200
1200
1200
1200
0900
1000
1000
1100
1000
1000
1100
1100
1100
1100
1000
1000
1100
0800
0800
Cribbage
Darts
Youth Darts
8-Ball
Euchre
5-Pin Bowling
Mixed Darts
Shuffleboard
Washer Ring Toss
Horseshoes
Golf
Note: Please arrive 1 hour early for registration!
* Sub branches for Zone Shuffleboard on Mar. 05 are Fenelon and Lindsay
Page 12
Coming Events Summary
Hot Lunch Menu for March
Sundays - Drop-in Shuffle Board at 1:30 pm
Sundays - Karate 4 pm to 5:30 pm
Mondays - Ladies' 8-Ball Pool League at 6:30 pm
Mondays - Shuffle Board League at 6:30 pm
Tuesdays - Darts League at 7:30 pm
Wednesdays - Men's Snooker League at 7:00 pm
Thursdays - Tai Chi at 10:00 am
~~~
Thursday, Mar 17 - St Paddy’s Day Party at 1 pm
Saturday Mar 19 - Meat Roll at 2:30 pm
Friday, Mar 25 - Good Friday—Branch closed (except for the
spring clean-up party)
Saturday, Mar 26 - Branch 238 hosts Zone Euchre all day
Friday, April 01- English Pub Night at 5 pm
Thursday, April 14- General Meeting at 7:30 pm
(Always check our online calendar or call the Branch to confirm
latest dates)
(for sports, check the Legion Sport Schedule on page 10 )
Cartoon: St Paddy’s Parade
Don't forget:
The Branch serves hot meals at lunch-time every Thursday and
Friday! These are not restricted to members - feel free to ask
a friend or neighbour to join you.
Page 13
Fenelon Fall Legion
23 Veterans Way
Box 247
Fenelon Falls, ON
K0M1N0
Phone:705-887-3041
Fax: 705-887-2982
Email: office@fenelonfallslegion.ca
Last Post — 2016
Vet
Name
Date of Death
G. Howard Neal
01/01/16
Eigjil (Bob) Jensen
01/19/16
Geoffrey Godfrey
02/20/16
Duncan McDonagh
03/06/16
fenelonfallslegion.ca
Lest We Forget
Our mission is to serve veterans and their dependents, promote
Remembrance and act in the service of Canada and its communities
This newsletter if produced twice a month for the Fenelon Falls Legion
and members of the Fenelon Falls community to keep them informed
of events and activities at the Branch. If you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe to this email list, please send a note to pleduc@gmail.com.
Comments or feedback can be sent to the editor pleduc@gmail.com
Page 14