By Joel van der Veen

HANLEY — With membership dwindling and participation on the wane, the remaining members of the Hanley branch of the Royal Canadian Legion have decided to call it quits.

At a Dec. 2 meeting, club members voted to disband Branch No. 258, which has been active in the district since September of 1945.

As a result, 2016 will be the final year of operation for the branch, after which it will wind down and its assets will be dispersed.

Though the branch has a membership of about 30 people, most of them are no longer active with the Legion, said treasurer Gordon McGregor. This leaves a heavier workload for those members who remain involved.

“The people that are (serving) are tired,” said McGregor. “Nobody seems to want to pick that up.”

“Even the veterans, they see the writing on the wall,” said secretary Neil McRae.

The two executive members said the branch has been in serious decline for the last four or five years, as the number of veterans has steadily dropped and active participation has all but vanished.

“We have military families in town that have no interest,” said McRae. “That’s kind of disheartening.”

The club has an executive of three members, including president Ron Earis.

A telling sign came about three years ago when the branch began meeting in the town hall after selling its longtime “Club Hut.”

“It didn’t improve the morale or the membership at all,” said McGregor. “If anything, it went the other way.”

Originally constructed as Bell Rock School, the building was moved into town after the school closed in 1947. It was used as a classroom at first and was later purchased by the Legion.

McGregor estimated that the branch has about $8,000 in its Poppy Fund, although they are restricted in how it can spend that money by Legion regulations.

The funds must be diverted to projects that support veterans, and even then, the branch must specify exactly how the money will be spent.

For instance, members could donate funds towards the veterans wing at the Sherbrooke Community Centre long-term care home in Saskatoon.

The club may also direct funds towards the First Responders associations in Hanley and Kenaston, but in all cases, there must be a specific, documented target for that money.

“It just gets more frustrating on a small membership,” said McGregor, adding that it’s enough to “make you wonder why you’re raising the money.”

The branch also has around $45,000 in its general account, much of it coming from the sale of the clubhouse. There are fewer restrictions on how that money is spent, added McGregor.

“It’s our plan at this point to disperse everything we can locally,” he said.

Club members would like to see the Remembrance Day ceremony carried on in Hanley, noting that the annual event still draws over 100 people.

“Some guys want to keep it going, some can’t see the point,” said McRae. “We’re kind of torn. . . It’s just getting (to be) too much for two people, three people to handle it.”

During the Dec. 2 meeting, members heard from Gordon McRae, president of Branch No. 51 in Davidson, about how his branch had revived the Nov. 11 ceremony there with assistance from local churches and the school.

“He outlined some different options for us,” said Neil McRae, adding, “We don’t have anyone that’s prepared to spend the time that Gord McRae does.”

McRae and McGregor expressed doubt that there would be enough community support to keep the service running each year.

Hanley Composite School usually holds a Remembrance service around Nov. 11 each year for students and staff.

Principal Chris Tucker said in December that no one had approached the school about joining forces for a service on Remembrance Day, but added that he and his staff would be open to discussing the matter.

Rev. Kristin Soveran, minister of Hanley Lutheran Church, said last month that she believed the local churches would be willing to lend their efforts to help the services continue.

A Hanley native herself, Soveran said her father, the late Tom Bohrson, had served in the navy from 1941 to 1945. She said the Nov. 11 service is an important way to honour the veterans of Canada’s past conflicts, as well as the country’s present-day servicemen and women.

Soveran returned to Hanley four years ago after an absence of 35 years and said she has enjoyed seeing the town’s three churches work together on events like the carol festival, Vacation Bible School and special services.

“That’s been one of the great delights of serving in Hanley,” she said. “We do a lot of things together.”

She said it only “seems natural” that the churches would come alongside the Legion members to continue the Remembrance Day services, adding, “That is a role for the churches to play.”

Another nearby branch, Kenaston No. 240, was dissolved about six or seven years ago. Carol Lewis, one of three remaining members at the time of its closure, said the branch lost much of its momentum after her father, Second World War veteran Glen Hamre, moved into a care home in Saskatoon.

Branch members who wish to remain part of the Royal Canadian Legion will likely transfer their membership to Nutana Branch No. 362 in Saskatoon, or to Davidson Branch No. 51.

Anyone interested in offering assistance is invited to contact McGregor or McRae, or to write the branch at Box 153, Hanley.

HANLEY — With membership dwindling and participation on the wane, the remaining members of the Hanley branch of the Royal Canadian Legion have decided to call it quits.

At a Dec. 2 meeting, club members voted to disband Branch No. 258, which has been active in the district since September of 1945.

As a result, 2016 will be the final year of operation for the branch, after which it will wind down and its assets will be dispersed.

Though the branch has a membership of about 30 people, most of them are no longer active with the Legion, said treasurer Gordon McGregor. This leaves a heavier workload for those members who remain involved.

“The people that are (serving) are tired,” said McGregor. “Nobody seems to want to pick that up.”

“Even the veterans, they see the writing on the wall,” said secretary Neil McRae.

The two executive members said the branch has been in serious decline for the last four or five years, as the number of veterans has steadily dropped and active participation has all but vanished.

“We have military families in town that have no interest,” said McRae. “That’s kind of disheartening.”

The club has an executive of three members, including president Ron Earis.

A telling sign came about three years ago when the branch began meeting in the town hall after selling its longtime “Club Hut.”

“It didn’t improve the morale or the membership at all,” said McGregor. “If anything, it went the other way.”

Originally constructed as Bell Rock School, the building was moved into town after the school closed in 1947. It was used as a classroom at first and was later purchased by the Legion.

McGregor estimated that the branch has about $8,000 in its Poppy Fund, although they are restricted in how it can spend that money by Legion regulations.

The funds must be diverted to projects that support veterans, and even then, the branch must specify exactly how the money will be spent.

For instance, members could donate funds towards the veterans wing at the Sherbrooke Community Centre long-term care home in Saskatoon.

The club may also direct funds towards the First Responders associations in Hanley and Kenaston, but in all cases, there must be a specific, documented target for that money.

“It just gets more frustrating on a small membership,” said McGregor, adding that it’s enough to “make you wonder why you’re raising the money.”

The branch also has around $45,000 in its general account, much of it coming from the sale of the clubhouse. There are fewer restrictions on how that money is spent, added McGregor.

“It’s our plan at this point to disperse everything we can locally,” he said.

Club members would like to see the Remembrance Day ceremony carried on in Hanley, noting that the annual event still draws over 100 people.

“Some guys want to keep it going, some can’t see the point,” said McRae. “We’re kind of torn. . . It’s just getting (to be) too much for two people, three people to handle it.”

During the Dec. 2 meeting, members heard from Gordon McRae, president of Branch No. 51 in Davidson, about how his branch had revived the Nov. 11 ceremony there with assistance from local churches and the school.

“He outlined some different options for us,” said Neil McRae, adding, “We don’t have anyone that’s prepared to spend the time that Gord McRae does.”

McRae and McGregor expressed doubt that there would be enough community support to keep the service running each year.

Hanley Composite School usually holds a Remembrance service around Nov. 11 each year for students and staff.

Principal Chris Tucker said in December that no one had approached the school about joining forces for a service on Remembrance Day, but added that he and his staff would be open to discussing the matter.

Rev. Kristin Soveran, minister of Hanley Lutheran Church, said last month that she believed the local churches would be willing to lend their efforts to help the services continue.

A Hanley native herself, Soveran said her father, the late Tom Bohrson, had served in the navy from 1941 to 1945. She said the Nov. 11 service is an important way to honour the veterans of Canada’s past conflicts, as well as the country’s present-day servicemen and women.

Soveran returned to Hanley four years ago after an absence of 35 years and said she has enjoyed seeing the town’s three churches work together on events like the carol festival, Vacation Bible School and special services.

“That’s been one of the great delights of serving in Hanley,” she said. “We do a lot of things together.”

She said it only “seems natural” that the churches would come alongside the Legion members to continue the Remembrance Day services, adding, “That is a role for the churches to play.”

Another nearby branch, Kenaston No. 240, was dissolved about six or seven years ago. Carol Lewis, one of three remaining members at the time of its closure, said the branch lost much of its momentum after her father, Second World War veteran Glen Hamre, moved into a care home in Saskatoon.

Branch members who wish to remain part of the Royal Canadian Legion will likely transfer their membership to Nutana Branch No. 362 in Saskatoon, or to Davidson Branch No. 51.

Anyone interested in offering assistance is invited to contact McGregor or McRae, or to write the branch at Box 153, Hanley.