The first Legion Week was held in 1953 by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 113 in Dresden.
It took 27 years, but in 1980 the Command Provincial Executive Committee decided Legion Week should be an annual event across all of Ontario.
This past Sunday, Legionnaires and veterans kicked off Legion Week with Decoration Day, an even older tradition dating back to the 19th century, when visits are made to local cemeteries to lay wreaths at the graves of the fallen.
“Legion Week is a means of making our communities aware of the contribution the Legion has made over the years, and is continuing to make in honouring the many brave citizens who served our country and enhancing the quality of life in our communities,” Gisele Pharand, Legion Week chair and member of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76, told Sudbury.com in 2015.
This past Sunday, the Branch 76 Legion honoured Canada’s 150th birthday (the sesquicentennial) by dedicating an outdoor area near the branch in Minnow Lake for veterans past, present and future.
But before that dedication, Decoration Day ceremonies were held at Lasalle Cemetery, Parklawn Cemetery, Copper Cliff Cenotaph, the Polish Combatants memorial and at the cenotaph in Memorial Park, that included a march past from the 2nd Battalion Irish Regiment.
Colleen O'Reilly served as the Legion Week chair for Branch 76 this year.
For more information on Legion Week or for information on the Royal Canadian Legion, call the Legion in Minnow Lake at 705-566-4010.
