Barrhead’s Royal Canadian Legion building was constructed in large part through the sweat equity of veterans from both the First and Second World Wars and it may soon be in the hands of a new owner.
At least that is what a group of Barrhead Legion members, which included president Chuck Mortimer, poppy committee member John Schroder, Korean War veteran Herman Barkemeyer and Legion service officer, and membership chair Arda Klan told the Leader a week after instituting new hours.
Starting May 1, the Legion cut the days the lounge was open from Tuesday to Saturday to Fridays only from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. The Legion will also open for special occasions. The decision was made at the Legion’s April 19 general meeting and it will be reevaluated at the end of the month.
A decision that wasn’t without some controversy, Klan noted saying some of the membership, herself included, thought the move is too drastic.
“I’m against it. What I would like to have seen is that we would open Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and only for four hours,” Klan said.
Barkemeyer said regardless of what days or how long, they needed to do something.
“The reason this all has come about is that we are losing $3,000 [averaged over the year] a month. So I’m not sure if opening two more days is going to make much of a difference,” he said, adding if the Legion continued to lose money at its current rate they might have to close their doors permanently.
Unfortunately, Barkemeyer said there are often days where the only person in the lounge is the Legion’s bartender and the daily receipts are less than $20.
To break even, it is estimated the lounge needs to take in between $250-300, when the bartender’s wages, product, utilities, et cetera are factored in.
“We have even seen a decline in the number of people coming to our meat draws. On average, for the last five years, I would say we have been losing 10 per cent per year ” Mortimer said.
Barkemeyer agreed but suggested the decline was more recent and was linked with the lower oil prices.
He also suggested it had to do with the Legion’s demographics. Currently, the Barrhead branch sports about 190 members many of which live outside the community. Klan estimates there are about 80 members, but like most not-for-profit organizations the majority of work falls to less than a dozen people, all of which are senior citizens, most of them in their 80s.
“What we really need is more people who are willing to step up and help,” Barkemeyer said, adding he has heard complaints that the Legion will not accept new ideas.
“That’s not true. But whenever you start a new project you need people willing to do the work. We are always looking for new ideas to help bring people in and that is what we are hoping will happen here when people read our story, but we also need people willing and able to help,” he said, adding in recent years the Legion has made it easier to join.
Gone is the requirement to have served in the armed forces or be a relative of someone who has.
“All you have to be is 18 years old and be a citizen in good standing in the community and support the Legion and veterans, especially through our poppy campaigns,” Mortimer said, adding all the funds from the sale of wreaths and poppies go towards helping veterans in the community and not the organization’s operational costs.
This year the Legion donated $8,400 to Barrhead Healthcare Centre, Hillcrest Lodge, Barrhead Continuing Care Centre and Shepherd’s Care.
“Yes, the specialized equipment, the specialized beds, chairs, medical equipment, that these organizations buy with the help of our donations is to help veterans, but their use isn’t exclusive to veterans they are utilized by the organizations to serve the entire community,” Mortimer said, adding he is worried what these organizations will do if the Legion were to fold.
In communities where there is no Legion, another organization usually takes up the mantle of the poppy campaign, he said, but there is no guarantee.
“Then there is the remembrance aspect,” he said. “While groups like the fire department do their best, of course, there isn’t the same enthusiasm for it.”
Barkemeyer added it would also be a shame to have another group or business, use the building if the Legion folded, noting it was the veterans who literally built the building.
“The veterans built the thing. When the Second World War veterans returned they asked the First World War veterans to take the $300 they had saved to build a hall. And that is exactly what they did,” he said, adding it was completed shortly before he returned home from the Korean War. “These guys built it themselves and when the time came to expand it, they did it through the efforts of the Ladies Auxiliary who would organize chicken dinners, dances, bake sales and everything else to raise the money. It would be very disappointing if all their efforts came to naught.”
