Finding new ways to remember

Legion uses entertainment to remain relevant & viable
Story and photos by Casey Lessard

With a smile on her face and a friend in her arms, Doreen Chester looks like a good time personified. The Legion president is cutting a rug on the dance floor while Saturday afternoon’s entertainment performs a song. Partner after partner, male or female, it’s obvious Chester loves to dance and this has benefited the Legion and the community.
“It started with entertainment on a Saturday afternoon,” she says of her seven-year involvement in the Grand Bend Legion. “I was told there was entertainment here, and I love to dance and I love music, so I came. As I made friends, I was asked to decorate the hall for New Years’ Eve and then the Christmas trees. Then I worked upstairs at one of the banquets and one of the fellows heard that I was a teacher so he convinced me to join the executive as education chair.
“I knew I would be involved in the community when I moved in,” she says. “The people that I know in the Legion make you want to be part of it. If they ask you to help, you just want to say yes. And I’ve found that if you need help, people say yes right away.”
President-elect Ron Crown agrees.
“This town is known for its volunteers,” he says, “and a good example was the 2001 Canada Summer Games; we had to turn people away. A lot of people are looking for something to do and you don’t have to take a lot of their time. People want to support the community they live in.”
“We have at least 12-14 people who work the bingo every Tuesday night and some of them are in their early 80s,” Chester says. “They have that vivacious energy and drive that they want to give back to the community.”
Volunteering with the Legion can support the community in many ways. Its members fund local charities in addition to work with veterans and remembrance.
“The basic focus has not changed,” Crown says, “but the things you have to do to keep going certainly have. We still look after veterans and their dependants. But the problem is that the veterans are becoming fewer and fewer. Because of their age – most of them are at least 80 – we see a lot of them going into homes like Parkwood. We spend a lot of time making them more comfortable.”
The demographic change means the Legion must do things differently to remain viable, and that includes opening its doors to the public. Harry Young is an expert at promoting the Legion’s attributes. The entertainment coordinator wants everyone to come and spend money on a good cause, whether it be attending meat draws, bingo or Saturday afternoon entertainment.
“Giving back to the community is the most important thing,” Young says. “Coming here is your little part you play in helping them. We need $250,000 a year to run this place just to break even. And at the same time, we give away the rest of our money to all the different charities.”
“I believe that everyone has something they can offer to the community,” Chester says, “and that if they got involved in one organization they would realize how much they could get involved and how much fun it is.”

Band Profile: Bob Finlay

Grand Bend Legion
May 19 3-6pm

Hometown: St. Thomas
Personal Style: Everything from early war tunes to East Coast Canada to Elvis, 50s, 60s, 70s. Canadian folk music. Audience participation.
Influences: My dad; high school teacher Frank Hurlehay; vocal coach and Caledonians accompanist Dr. Wayne Carroll
What people can expect: A fun, lively, entertaining high caliber afternoon.

Interview and photo by Casey Lessard

Who inspires you?
My dad. My dad’s passed now, but he got me into music. Andy Stewart, a huge Scottish entertainer. When I came to Canada, Gordon Lightfoot and the Guess Who. Then Neil Diamond and Elvis, the Eagles.

What makes you want to sing?
It’s my very being. I’ve been an entertainer since I was 15 years of age. It’s going on 38 years I’ve been playing Legions and around the world. There’s a deep internal drive. It’s a God-given talent that needs to be shared.

Where do you like to perform?
I perform many different ways. The Caledonians play stage shows; that’s the top professional level of what I do. I’ve played in Scotland, Vegas, Disneyworld, New York, East coast, West coast. But I also play Highland Games and I enjoy that. I also love Legions and war tunes because it gives people memories of times past. When people come in, they come from all walks of life, but they go out saying they had a good afternoon with Bob.

When do you find time for yourself?
I’m a therapeutic music recreationist at Regional Mental Health Care at St. Joseph’s in London. With that, I’ve done a lot of re-teaching musical instruments to clients who in turn go out and perform at seniors’ homes.

Why did you become a musician?
It’s my destiny. When I was a boy, our family would have get-togethers and music was always there. Everyone would pick up an instrument and then I took lessons. Eventually it’s all you do. Music is the very essence of who I am. It shows the minute I step on stage or when I talk to someone.

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Band Profile: Mike Fagan

Grand Bend Legion
May 26 3-6pm

Hometown: Originally from East Coast; currently London
Personal Style: All over the place. Started out playing classical; folk after school; session musician in L.A.; rock solo act in Canada.
Influences: Bob Dylan to Pink Floyd to Buddy Guy. Heavily influenced by jazz. I’m constantly studying that type of music.
What people can expect: At the Legion: Irish, older tunes, dance music from the swing era, 50s, 60s. At the clubs: Stone Temple Pilots, Tragically Hip, Black Sabbath, etc.

Interview and photo by Casey Lessard

Who blows your mind?
Miles Davis. What he did was took jazz and infused it with rock, which has become the focus of all musicians these days. Pink Floyd acknowledges that he was the inspiration for Dark Side of the Moon. I like Buddy Guy but that’s in my personal time.

What inspires you?
My kids; I have three. And my wife. My family is the source of the magic.

Where did you get your first big break?
When I was around 19 I was playing at the Kee to Bala (in Muskoka). I was the house band there and they asked me to open for a band called Max Webster (with lead singer Kim Mitchell). I had to walk on with just a guitar in front of this big crowd, and it actually went really well. That’s when I realized that I could make a go at it as a professional musician.

When is your favourite time of day?
Early morning, but I don’t see it very often in my line of work. I love the sunrise. The only time I see six or seven o’clock is when I’m on holiday, whereas most people try to avoid that when they’re on holiday.

Why do you do it?
I’m a musician. I don’t have a choice (laughs). It’s always called me and I just keep doing it. I decided a couple years ago to cut back on the traveling and have focused on teaching because I was away too much. So now I play three times a week, and I get a big kick out of teaching and watching the people I’m teaching on the verge of going pro.

Mike is working on a book called Campfire Guitar, which will be released in 4-6 months.

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