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peeknbb akrjhw9s3 ladies play their part by denise mcdonald helping stouffville veterans association to care for our world war veterans and providing assist ance to their families in need may seem a monumental task to many but this is only part of what has made gwen mcfaddens twoyear term as president of the legion ladies auxiliary branch 459 so worthwhile every year we bus in veterans from sunnybrook hospital and pro vide them with live entertainment and dinner says mrs mcfadden many of these men have been hos pitalized since it opened and served in world war one this is usually the only opportunity they have to get away from the hospital know ing that you feel as if youre really doing something worthwhile according to mrs mcfadden stouffville legion ladies auxiliary was formed in february 1953 for the wives widows mothers sis- ters daughters and granddaugh ters of associate members today it boasts a membership of 54 women all from stouffville and sur rounding areas i became a member24 years ago through my husband rae who is a district commander in the legion she says and ive been on the ex ecutive committee pretty much the whole time ive been on the au xiliary having served as vicepresident for four years mrs mcfadden felt everyone should have a chance to move up the executive ladder while bringing others up as well so de cided it time to vacate that chair she was elected president in may 1985 and reelected in 1986 because my husband is in charge of 47 branches he has to do quite a bit of travelling and i fre quently accompany him says mrs mcfadden i warned the girls i often wouldnt be there for meetings or to help but they still felt i could serve them well as presi dent although claiming her new title hasnt proved much different from being a regular member mrs mcfadden admits there is added responsibility with the position not only do we cater weddings banquets and other social events we hold a remembrance day bazaar and tea on the first satur day before nov 11 and business mens luncheons twice a year its not unusual for us to be there five days out of seven but you dont mind being there all day friday and saturday because all the girls are so hardworking and everyone pitches in and pulls their weight she says mrs mcfadden and the ladies au xiliary have also been known to hold fashion shows however in the last couple of years so many people are having them weve let them take over were aging the same as the branch we just cant do as much as we once did however a favorite event for the ladies is the spouses luncheon held the first week of june its a chance for all the hospital ized war veterans to get together with their wives says mrs mcfadden many would never have the chance to get out together unless we did something special for them i also enjoy thoroughly my friendship with the girls con tinues the president membership follows evelyn aiken patrappleton sylvia bishop anne boivin doreen brown mabel burkholder jewell dicks peg dixon fran eckhart linda epps doris farthing ada gray betty grove mary hamer- ston meeda harding rose hertle dorothy huard gladys hutch inson carol jackson minnie jack son eleanor johnston elizabeth johnston edna lee joan marsh- man gwen mcfadden peggy mcginlay edna mcquaker marilyn mcquaker dorothy mehaf fey rhonda milos betty moore peggy mowat bcrnice nel son vera nesbitt eileen nugent linda pilotte janice robinson joanne ryfa ruth sheppard helen taylor barbara thomas blanche tindall margaret vatcher ethel wilson loretta walker irene thompson stouffville legion marks 40th year dave- mcquaker left and gwen mcfadden respec tive presidents of stouffvilles legion and legion ladies auxiliary will join other members tonight in celebrating the 40th anniversary of branch 459 a ban quet begins at 7 pm in veterans memorial hall ninth line north jim thomas vets hall cost 16000 stouffville branch 459 of the royal canadian legion cele brates the 40th anniversary of its origin today april 4 while this milestone is signifi cant its also worthy of note that the present veterans memorial hall costing 16000 was com pleted a short time later but not without a lot of hard work span ning a period of three years a check through tribune files indicates the initial proposal was presented in january 194g a story heading in the jan 17 edi tion of that year reads veter ans hall proposed as war memo rial town council is informed the story says in part a deputation of stouffville world war ii veterans headed by dr nc smith waited on the municipal council last week and laid before that body their aims and hopes for a veterans hall in stouffville that could be recog nized as a memorial for the people of this place for the splendid work done by our boys who went over seas and gave valiant service that we might enjoy our way of life captain smith said much thought had been given to the idea of hav ing a place where the boys could meet it was concluded that a hall 40 to 50 feet wide by 60 feet long should be erected on a site owned by the town on main street next to the cnr crossing the reeve and members of council promised every possible assistance but counselled that a strong organiza tion of men would be required to carry to a successful conclusion the financing of such an undertak ing the deputation included harry lintner bert lickorish del jennings and george abel the january 31 1946 edition of the tribune carried a page 1 story under the heading veterans seek 16000 memorial hall on main street it reads in part at a meeting of business men and other interested citizens of stouffville called by the local veterans association plans were put forward for the erection of a veterans memorial hall a committee was formed to canvas the town and surrounding district for subscriptions for the building that is to cost 16000 reeve av n6faw chaired the meeting- dr neil smith committee chairman said a hall 60 by 40 feet was strong ly favored by the veterans with a stage and facilities for banquets lounge room and seating capacity for some 400 people dr smith said a contractor had agreed to take on the job and erect a brick building at the 16000 figure a memorial hall citizens com mittee was formed under the chairmanship of fred l button a page 1 statement by mr button was published in the march 28 1946 edition of the tribune it reads a memorial hall is being plan ned to be built in stouffville this summer on a lot now owned by the town east of the cnr station on the north side of main street the size of the hall will be 40 by 60 feet and the plans show a main au ditorium a basement with club room and lounge washrooms and kitchen a hall is badly needed in this district for use by towns peo ple and those in the immediate locality and as the boys have ex pressed their desire for this type of memorial we ask you to sup port the campaign for funds to build the hall as a lasting memo rial to the lads who paid the sup reme sacrifice that we may enjoy our present freedom this is the torch they throw to you from fall ing hands be yours to hold it high and support this campaign to your fullest capacity the names of all veterans in the district embrac ing this undertaking will be in scribed on suitable plaques and placed in the new building the campaign target was set at 10000 according to the tribune issue of april 18 1946 the story reads in part the campaign got underway to a nice start this week with a dozen citizens pledging sums of 200 and 100 the veterans them selves gave 500 and the stouffvil le lions club is expected to contri- bute 500 also fred button is campaign manager the tribune of may 2 1946 re ported the following mr henry ogden the contrac tor stated he believed he could have the building up by fall if the work could be commenced by jalyr i i i i i i i i the campaign for funds didnt go all that well according to a tri bune story of may 9 1946 under a heading bid for 10000 veter ans memorial hall fund barely half subscribed the paper said results of the canvass in town in an effort to raise 10000 by pub lic subscription toward a veter ans community hall is nearing completion with most of the rate payers having been interviewed unfortunately the results are far from what was hoped for while the number of refusals to sub scribe have not been numerous the amounts donated have been too small to reach the substantial sum the may 30 1946 edition of the tribune recorded the following donations of 100 and over the stouffville veterans asso ciation 500 stouitville liens club 500 fl button 200 joseph borinsky 200 ea but ton 200 machine tool works 200 wesley schell 200 dr hb freel 100 jk agnew 100 stouffville tribune 100 dr st bodcndistil 100 df holden 100 mr sangster and mrs lane 100 hugh banner- man 100 bert bell 100 mer- vin watts 100 thomas birkett 100 and walter brillinger 100 in october 1946 a petition signed by more than 90 of the businessmen in stouffville plus many other ratepayers called on council to place the question of a new veterans memorial hall to a vote of the people it would ask permission of the ratepayers for the issuance of debentures for 25000 the tribune of october 24 reported the following com- ments no place in ontario needs a hall as badly as stouffville stated councillor jack smits were certainly losing out when it comes to not having a hall stated councillor ernie button important banquets con ventions and concerts all ha ve to be passed up said reeve av nolan we have the matter of our returned men to think about this is an ex- cellent opportunity to tie in our memorial project with a longfelt nced intowh- memory of war veterans must live on at legion president by denise mcdonald dave mcquaker president of branch 459 of the stouffville veterans association is worried too many people are forgetting what the legion is all about car ing for our war veterans you have to remember most of our veterans are dying he says the average age is 65 and up so its up to us to carry the legion but all in all what it boils down to is war is becoming a second memory to people they just dont think about it anymore and its just not right the legion should have to die this way according to mr mcquaker he became an associate member in 1974 through his fathers affilia tion in the service and his desire to establish a dart team with his brother ron and friends bill wil cox and al macintosh having served on the executive for 13 years as sports offier second vicepresident and first vice- president he was elected presi dent last june however since that time mr mcquaker has become in creasingly alarmed about the le gions present state of morale we have functions every fri day night and ive been trying all year to get people motivated but i just havent been given any sup port he says mr mcquaker claims the lack of attendance at the friday pub nights could be largely due to peo ple thinking they must be a mem ber to attend all you have to do is have a member sign you in he says thats how we get new mem bers this town has grown so big and there are so many people enti tled to belong here that just dont know they are mr mcquaker claims anyone serving in the service even today is entitled to be a member as well as any son or daughter of an associate member fraternal members having had neither a mother nor father in the service may also join but lack voting rights although responsible for serv ing on all committees associated with the branch including cards darts shuffle board pool and golf mr mcquaker feels the function that remains highlighted during his first term as president is timmy day its a lot of work and takes a long time to organize but every minute is worth it he says although hoping to be re elected for a second term in june mr mcquaker says his present goal is to continue improving the legion encourage participation and make it a better environment for all to enjoy we had 50 new members join since i became president he says perhaps it has something to do with the improved environ ment presidents gw abell 1947 bs lickorish 1948 gw abell 1949 lwj buckland 1950 1951 wd mal- loy 1952 lwj buckland 1953 rh holman 1954 cj garrett 1955 lwj buckland 1956 1957 b tunney 1958 t johnston 1959 v abel 1960 s burkholder 1961 1962 1963 k mckcllar1964 1965 s burkhol der 1966 1967 h chewins 1968 a dixon 1969 1970 1971 j mckellar 197172 a fox 197273 g turner 197374 ar mcfadden 197476 l her tle 197678 ivan goudie 1978- 79 j mccracken 197980 lou hcrueji98jhfc j9882 ivan geudiem8286rrrrfwr