History
of Ontario Command Royal Canadian Legion, Walkerville-Windsor Branch
123
World
War I veterans of Walkerville, and especially the late Captain H.
A. Springle, were determined to find a location for their Great
War Veterans Association meetings. After returning home from the
war, the veterans had been getting together in the old Holland Block
on the corner of Lincoln and Assumption in the basement of a store.
In
1920, their efforts were rewarded when they succeeded in leasing
from the Crown, a piece of property on the corner of Arygle and
Brant. Thrifty by circumstance, the boys located a surplus Army
hut, which was moved to the site and renovated. To this day, the
Legion is still known far and wide as "The Hut".
Encouraged
to link up with the Canadian Legion, this was accomplished in 1925.
Prior to receiving a beer license in 1935, money was raised in a
variety of ways including whist parties, Boblo and Moonlight trips
on the Detroit River and dances. Between 1920 and 1930, a group
of Branch 12 members labored regularly on county farms doing odd
jobs and harvesting to earn supplies for needy veterans, and for
a soup kitchen set up in 1928 at the Walkerville Brewery on Walker
and Wyandotte. During the Depression, Branch 12 often purchased
a train ticket home for a destitute Veteran.
In
1947, the hut was torn down and replaced by a cement block building,
complete with auditorium, lounge and kitchen; the hall has been
refurbished and updated since that time. Last month, the legion
celebrated its 75th anniversary with a gathering of veterans, ladies
auxillary and friends.
We Are The Walkerville Boys
Courtesy
Royal Canadian Legion, Walkerville-Windsor Branch 12
Along
the highways and byways of Italy, France, Holland, Belgium and Germany,
thousands heard triumphant marching feet stepping out smartly to
the refrain "We Are the Walkerville Boys", composed by "Hookey"
Walker, the first Walkerville man to be killed in World War I. "Hookey"
would be proud of Branch 12, Canadian Legion, which adopted his
song:
