The Carman Legion Branch #11 Ladies Auxiliary has been celebrating 85 years of community involvement and service.

The drama group that met on the top floor of the Memorial Hall. (Archival photos from the Carman-Dufferin Heritage Advisory Committee website.)Along with these celebrations, a number of the current members, who are also relatives of the original members, were presented with awards marking their own years of service. One of those ladies is Marlene Rose.

“I've been a 65-year member . . . My mother was a charter member and the first president back in September 1934, so I've had a long history with the branch and the auxiliary here in Carman.”

“Of course, my mother and my father, they were both charter members here at Carman. So it was always special to our whole family that we be involved.”

She joined at 18, and almost immediately was recruited to be part of the executive committee. Since then Rose has worn the hat of almost every committee position.

“It’s just been a really nice time and experience that’s been very rewarding to me.”

As Remembrance Day Chairperson, Rose knows a lot about their history and commends the many women who have played a part in their work.

“In 85 years you do a lot. During the war years, these women, of course, stayed home, raised families many of them, and they sent parcels every Christmas, Easter, and one other time in the year to the boys overseas. They packed them and they made Christmas cakes . . . and some of them would bake up to 15 cakes. I'm talking about days where you didn't have modern appliances or things. Many of them were using cookstoves and that kind of thing because we go back to 1934.”

The Legion Stone outside of Memorial Hall for the Battle of Vimy Ridge Commemoration in April, 2018. It was dedicated by members of the Royal Canadian Legion and Ladies Auxiliary of Carman Branch #18 in 1989. (Photo from Carmanlegion.ca)

Back then they met in the basement of Carman’s Memorial Hall but would pack all of their things away on the top floor. This involved carrying items up and down four flights of stairs every time they would meet (The upper floor used to be the video room but is now office space).

“The first group of ladies, there was 15 just to start with. Then they invited some of the brides that came back with the boys, invited them to join as honorary members, and then they later became members. They stayed with us through all those years and never missed a meeting unless they were sick. They were just hard-working ladies.”

She says over the many years their mission has always stayed the same. To first serve their veterans, and then making donations to the community for important programs like sports, schools, and healthcare.

The most recent of these grants is $800 raised at their Remembrance Day Tea which will be split equally between Carman Palliative Care and the construction work on the Boyne Lodge.

Rose says one of the most memorable moments in her years with the Auxiliary is “the association with other people and the people you meet and the great friends you make. That’s all part of the work. Doing banquets and catering and that, that’s all work, but for me, it was a pleasure as well because you worked with people you knew and liked.”

“I've seen many changes and seen a lot of wonderful members pass, and endeavouring now to carry on with the remaining family members of those ladies and comrades who have passed . . . We're just working for the good of mankind right now. Let’s hope there’s never another war.”

Memorial Hall now serves as the office for the Town of Carman and RM of Dufferin. (Photo from spring of 2019)