Veterans Dinner 2024
Presentation

Good Evening Veterans, Interim President Richard Payette and Members of Branch 569, Royal Canadian Legion, Honoured Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

It is my honour and privilege to be here with you this evening, and I thank Branch 569 for the kind invitation to address you.  I do come here this evening having worn many different hats in my lifetime, and I hope to use some of my experiences to highlight what Remembrance means and to showcase the good work of Branch 569 over the years.  Please know that my recognition of your good work is from my vantage point as a bystander, but thoughts of Remembrance come directly from my heart, as it does for each and every one of you.  As I stand before you, I am mindful of the “pioneers” of Branch 569 who stepped to the plate, over the years, to sustain the Legion in our community.  The names of those “pioneers” are too many to name at this time, but they are recorded into your Branch’s history, whether in minute books, inscriptions on plaques, photographs and newspaper articles. 

 

At the outset, let me say that Branch 569 stands at the top of the list of organizations that work tirelessly to showcase a vibrant community, and provide comfort and care to those needing assistance and help through life's challenges.  While doing much for the community, a proud history provides the motivating force to those who give time and talent to this great organization, the Royal Canadian Legion.  I shall touch on your proud history in my remarks this evening, but I do wish to highlight an aspect of my life which touches on the reason for being here this evening, remembering those from the Greatest Generation, those living and departed who gave so much for our freedom and democracy.

 

Many of you know that I had a long career in the field of education, with 22 of those years teaching and mentoring in my home community of Long Sault.  This evening, I would like to take a few moments to reflect upon what I've seen in our schools, over the years, when it comes to Remembrance and Remembrance Day.  Over those years as an educator, I have been witness to a remarkable change and, may I be so bold to say, improvement to Remembrance Ceremonies and activities in the classrooms of our schools.  The two Rs, Remembrance and Respect, are much more evident today in the quality of activities undertaken in classrooms by teachers.  While I've been retired from active classroom duty for 24 years now, I have had many opportunities to return to schools to witness and participate in Remembrance Ceremonies.  I would be remiss in not saying that these Ceremonies have become much more impactful and meaningful, over the years.  May I say too, ladies and gentlemen, that the root of this success may be in the hands of teachers, but it's what each and every one of you do for your Legion and what's profiled in our community that provides the foundation of this success in schools.  While the burden of this leadership may be heavy, may I encourage you to continue motivating and inspiring the young teachers and educators in our communities.  They appreciate your help and they will certainly pass on much to the next generation of young folks in our community.

 

As an old historian in the community, it is fair to say that my presentation this evening should delve a bit into the history of Branch 569.  While historical data may be scarce, history tells us that the Longue Sault Branch 404 at Mille Roches was chartered on April 2, 1946.  History tells us, too, that those early years may have been a bit rocky, as the Mille Roches branch became inactive less than 12years after its founding.  Clive and Frances Marin write in their 1982 book Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry, 1945-1978, and I quote “The Mille Roches branch became inactive; but when the village was moved for the St. Lawrence Seaway and Power Project, the branch was revived in Long Sault in 1957 as Number 569.”  Many in the community do not realize that the history of the New Long Sault Legion, founded on November 21, 1957, predates the establishment of your branch's home at 7 Frost Avenue, Long Sault in 1961.  When first formed in 1957, the first meeting was held in the former Orange Hall on Johnson Crescent, Long Sault, with 14 members present.  That hall, by the way, is today an apartment building at the south curve on Johnson Crescent.  Following that first organizational meeting, meetings took place in private homes of members.

 

While additional information will be presented later in this presentation, we do know that Veterans and community citizens stepped to the plate in the former Lost Villages to honour those from the Townships of Cornwall and Osnabruck who made the Supreme Sacrifice in World War I, World War II and the Korean Conflict with cenotaphs in Mille Roches and Aultsville.

 

While little information exists at the Lost Villages Archives on the history that predates the Hydro and Seaway Development Projects of the 1950s, we do know that the New Long Sault Branch took on a greater profile in the community with the establishment of Branch 569 in the former Dr. John W. Messecar home at 7 Frost Avenue.  Dr. Messecar was a partner in the Bennett and Messecar Laboratory Company, and a well-respected doctor at Mille Roches.  He and his wife, Mary, built their beautiful home in 1907-08, about nine years after arriving at Mille Roches.  It was a large imposing home and office overlooking the Cornwall Canal and Bergin Lake, at the west end of the village. Mrs. Messecar, her daughter Louise (Messecar) McCartney, and grandson Brian sold the house to Ontario Hydro and moved to Cornwall shortly before 1956.  The Messecar home was the 85th house moved into Long Sault, and it was identified as SL 471.  It was vacant at the time of being lifted off its foundation at Mille Roches on October 19, 1956.  Ten days later, it was placed on its new foundation on Lot 352.  Following its move, your Legion's home was used as an office for the Chamber of Commerce, served as a depot for the Bank of Montreal until the Long Sault Shopping Centre was completed, and served as a school for students destined for the new St. George's Separate School on Bethune Avenue.  In 1961, Branch #569 of the Royal Canadian Legion bought the property from Ontario Hydro.  That's quite a history!

 

But your branch's history did not end at the time of purchase in 1961.  For 65 years, Legion Members and friends have poured countless hours of blood, sweat, and tears into making Branch 569's home in our community an inviting place for meetings, social events, and a place for Veterans and friends to gather and share information on programs and activities for Veterans and their families.

 

Besides home based activities, Branch 569 continues with its community outreach, whether through school presentations, luncheons for various functions, fundraising dinners, and the annual Remembrance Day Ceremonies at cenotaphs in Ingleside and Long Sault.  As we reflect on the good work undertaken by Legion members, we must never forget the great work done in 2023 to enhance the site of the Mille Roches-Moulinette Cenotaph at Ault Park.  While enhancements were made to the Ingleside Cenotaph in Memorial Square around 1996, under the leadership of Sandra Donnelly and with assistance from the Royal Canadian Air Cadets 325 Squadron and the Aultsville Men’s Club, the enhancements at Ault Park finally gave rest to a cenotaph that had quite a history regarding its location in the community.  

 

History tells us that the cenotaph was unveiled and dedicated on Remembrance Day, Sunday, November 11, 1934, to honour the eight soldiers of Mille Roches and Moulinette who made the supreme sacrifice during World War I.  Those soldiers' names are forever engraved on the front of this cenotaph.

​

 The cenotaph at Mille Roches was located on the front lawn of Mille Roches Public School, and it occupied a prominent location overlooking the Cornwall Canal and St. Lawrence River, along Highway No. 2, the main route through the village between Montreal and Toronto. 

​

The cenotaph stood at Mille Roches for approximately 23 years, with its move from the community necessitated because of the Hydro and Seaway projects of the 1950s.  While the date of its move to Long Sault is unknown, we do know that this event happened before the inundation of July 1, 1958.  It was placed in an inconspicuous, temporary location near Longue Sault Public School, with remembrance ceremonies held there until 2004.

​

 At the time of its relocation to Long Sault, twelve names were added to the back of the cenotaph, memorializing those soldiers from our Lost Villages communities of Mille Roches and Moulinette who made the supreme sacrifice in World War II.    

​

 At a meeting of the Lost Villages Historical Society on January 17, 2005, a motion was moved by Larry Welch and seconded by Tim Gault to have the cenotaph moved to Ault Park, home of the Lost Villages Museum.  The following day, a proposal was made by Dorothy Pride, a member of Branch 569 Royal Canadian Legion, to support the relocation plans.  On February 14, 2005, a committee consisting of Dorothy Pride, Tim Gault, Larry Welch, Kelly O'Farrell, and Arthur Murray met with the South Stormont Parks and Recreation Committee and received assurance that the relocation proposal would be recommended to the Council for the Township of South Stormont, as Ault Park was under the jurisdiction of the municipality.  After many months of negotiations and setbacks, the relocation finally took place on October 7, 2005, with MacGregor Crane Service lifting the granite memorial from its base and then placing it on the new base at Ault Park.

 For eighteen, the new cenotaph site at Ault Park received regular maintenance to the flower beds by Tim Gault and Cindy Bickerstaffe and her family.  Branch 569 provided two benches in 2012. It was always the desire to bring enhancements to the new site and these enhancements finally came to fruition in 2023 with the redesign and construction of a beautiful new interlocking stone plaza, walkway and raised flower beds by Shamrock Landscaping.  With financial support from the municipality, the Veterans Affairs Community War Memorial Program, Branch 569, Royal Canadian Legion, Losey Haulage, and other in-kind support, Noel Hennessy and his crew from Shamrock Landscaping arrived at the site on June 21, 2023 and the project took about a week to complete.  Roy Brownell chaired the Cenotaph Re-enhancement Committee, consisting of Simon Lavallee, Tim Gault, Ken Stephens, Kevin Amelotte, Cara Lemkay, MP Eric Duncan, and myself. 

​

Ladies and Gentlemen, Branch 569 has a proud history, and you all carry on a proud legacy that was founded on the foresight and ambition of your Legion’s “pioneers”.  May the good Lord give you the courage, good health, and support of the community, as you build on the foundation that was established in 1957.  May I say, your work does not go unnoticed.  Thank you.