THE DUFFLEBAG BRANCH #63 COLLINGWOOD ______March 2020 705-445-3780

THE VOLUNTEER

EDITORS: Sue Payne Mike Hodgson

March

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 BINGO Executive Ladies Darts LA Executive Mixed Bid Euchre Mixed Darts Meeting Meeting Dart Men’s Darts Cadets Tournament Pipe Band Euchre 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 BINGO Men’s Darts Ladies Darts LA General Green Patch Bid Euchre Mixed Darts Pipe Band Euchre Darts 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 BINGO Men’s Darts General Cadets Fish Fry Mixed Darts Pipe Band Meeting Euchre Ladies Darts Bid Euchre 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 BINGO Men’s Darts Ladies Darts Cadets Meat Roll Pipe Band Bid Euchre Mixed Darts Euchre 2 p.m. 29 30 31 BINGO Men’s Darts Mixed Darts Pipe Band

2020 1

WITOLD PILECKI: THE MAN WHO VOLUNTEERED FOR AUSCHWITZ

Auschwitz concentration camp

There was something different about prisoner number 4859. Like many of his fellow prisoners, 4859 had been arrested by the Nazis and slung into a new camp on the outskirts of the town of Oświęcim. So, what set this particular prisoner apart from his fellow detainees? 4859’s real name was and, as The Volunteer, the new book by former Daily Telegraph war correspondent Jack Fairweather vividly documents, he was locked up in the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp voluntarily.

Witold Pilecki, left, with a friend in 1930. Pilecki was a Polish farmer who joined the resistance after Germany invaded his country in 1939) 2

The story of Witold Pilecki was almost unknown in Poland before the fall of the communist regime in 1989. Indeed, to anyone who was aware of the name, Witold Pilecki was a traitor who had got what he deserved. The reality was very different.

Witold Pilecki and his family, 1933. Following the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, the occupiers quickly set about setting up a network of prison camps. Of those, Auschwitz would become the largest and most notorious in the Nazi concentration camp system.

After the camp became operational with the arrival of the first prisoners in May 1940, Auschwitz was something the Polish resistance was keen to know more about. What, exactly, was going on in the converted army barracks on the outskirts of the town of Oświęcim?

Enter Witold Pilecki. A seasoned and decorated veteran of the Polish-Soviet War of 1919-1921 who had seen action at the Battle of , Pilecki was eager to help out the resistance in any way he could. He, too, was eager to find out what was going on in Auschwitz, and he had a plan how to do just that.

Witold Pilecki in 1940 before he infiltrated Auschwitz — having been twice awarded the Polish Cross of Valour Pilecki’s plan was simple. He would get himself arrested, get thrown in Auschwitz and then start gathering and smuggling out intelligence about the place. He presented his plan to infiltrate the camp to his superiors in the Autumn of 1940, and they eagerly accepted. 3

Armed with a false identity card, Pilecki joined a protest march against the Nazi regime in Warsaw on the 19th of September. He was swiftly rounded up and detained along with 2,000 other Polish civilians. After two days’ internment in an old cavalry barracks where he was beaten with rubber truncheons, Pilecki, known to his captors as ‘Tomasz Serafiński’, was transferred to Auschwitz and given the prisoner number 4859. He was in. Now for the hard part. Once inside the camp, Pilecki wasted no time forming an underground resistance movement. Named the Związek Organizacji Wojskowej (ZOW), the organisation’s primary objectives were boosting the morale of inmates by smuggling food, medications and clothing into the camp, as well as gathering intelligence and smuggling it out of the camp.

An image of Pilecki taken in Auschwitz. In his book, Jack Fairweather writes that Pilecki tried to push his chin into his neck to distort his features and make him harder to identify.(Submitted by Harper Collins) With the ZOW in place, Pilecki could now begin documenting the day-to-day brutalities of prison life as he watched Auschwitz transform from a prison camp mainly housing military and political prisoners to one devoted to the mass extermination of human life. And through it all, Witold Pilecki was always just seconds away from death.

During the two and a half years Pilecki spent at the camp, he was able to smuggle out huge amounts of information to his superiors. He also began training the ZOW for a potential violent takeover of the camp should the opportunity ever arise.

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OF THE SIX MILLION JEWS MURDERED BY THE NAZIS IN WORLD WAR II, AN ESTIMATED ONE IN SIX MET THEIR END IN AUSCHWITZ- BIRKENAU.

Pilecki’s reports on the conditions in the camp began arriving in Warsaw in October 1940. Smuggled out by released prisoners, escaped prisoners and civilian workers who had been persuaded to help the ZOW, the reports of German mistreatment were soon being forwarded on to the Polish government-in-exile in London, who in turn passed them on to Churchill’s government.

Pilecki’s first report to reach London arrived in the Spring of 1941. It outlined the sadistic treatment of the prisoners in the camp. Over time, especially from May 1942 onwards, the nature of Pilecki’s information began to change. The camp had been extended in 1941, with a new, purpose-built secondary camp at Birkenau named Auschwitz II constructed primarily to house prisoners of war after the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union. Those prisoners were soon killed by overwork, starvation, illness and execution and the new camp - alongside the original Auschwitz I - was soon changed from a prison to a factory of death, killing over a million Jews, Poles, Gypsies, homosexuals and anyone else the Nazis considered surplus to requirements. Of the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis in World War II, an estimated one in six met their end in Auschwitz-Birkenau. THE INHUMAN TYRANNY OF AUSCHWITZ WAS SUDDENLY CHALLENGED. Pilecki’s reports of murder on an industrial scale stunned the resistance in Warsaw, so much so that many struggled to believe what their inside man was telling them. They felt sure that the British would act when Pilecki’s descriptions of gas ovens and mass graves and punishment executions and impossible human suffering landed on the desk of Churchill and his cabinet, but no help ever came. Even a request to bomb the train lines that carried the prisoners through the gates of Birkenau was turned down, an act that would have halted the killing, if only temporarily. By 1943, the Gestapo was hot on the heels of the ZOW, killing several of its most prominent members. It became clear to Pilecki that the information he had about the camp was too important to lose, and therefore the time had come to get out of there before he was sniffed out, tortured and killed. He managed to get a transfer to the camp’s bakery, situated two miles outside Auschwitz. With the aid of two friends, Pilecki cut the phone and alarm lines in the bakery, overpowered a guard and escaped using a duplicate key that opened the building’s front door. Witold Piecki left Auschwitz on the night of the 26th of April 1943. He had been there for just over two and a half years. 5

Pilecki made his way back to Warsaw to the headquarters of the Polish resistance, known as the . He compiled a comprehensive final report about his time in Auschwitz and the horrors he had witnessed there. Known as ‘Witold’s Report’, Pilecki’s account of mass executions, forced sterilisations and grotesque experiments makes for sober reading. That nothing was done about it, not even the disruption of the camp’s transportation links is one of the war’s most tragic missed opportunities.

Following his time in Auschwitz, Pilecki fought in the of the summer of 1944. As the Soviets advanced towards the Polish capital, the Home Army rose up and attacked the occupying German forces in the hope that the Red Army would join in the fight and free the city. Unfortunately, Stalin had no desire to see the Polish resistance and the country’s government-in-exile run postwar Poland. He wanted the country to be governed by a communist regime that gave fealty to the Soviet Union. To achieve that aim, it would be useful if the Home Army was wiped off the face of the earth.

Pilecki with wife Maria in 1931, shortly after their wedding. He said goodbye to his wife and children when he agreed to enter Auschwitz as a resistance spy

And so, to the horror of the fighting Poles, the Red Army sat back and allowed a ferocious German counterattack to crush the uprising. After the fight was over with many Poles wounded or killed, in an atrocious act of unnecessary vengeance and staggering cultural vandalism, the beautiful city of Warsaw was razed to the ground.

Pilecki was taken prisoner after the Uprising and spent the rest of the war in captivity, first in the town of Lansdorf in Silesia and then in a prisoner of war camp in Murnau in Bavaria. The camp was liberated by advancing American troops on the 28th of April 1945. Pilecki swiftly joined the intelligence division of the Polish Army and was sent to Italy. He would not remain there for long, and it was his decision to return to his homeland that sealed his fate.

Witold Pilecki returned to Warsaw under an assumed name in December 1945 to begin gathering intelligence on the hostile Soviet regime that was now in charge of postwar Poland. Despite being warned that his cover had been blown, Pilecki took the unfortunate decision to choose duty over self-preservation, continuing with his work 6 regardless of the risks. It was a fatal misjudgment. He was arrested in April 1947 and thrown in jail. After enduring almost a year of unspeakable torture and deprivation at the hands of his Soviet captors, a show trial was organized and held on 3rd March 1948. The death sentence was, of course, a foregone conclusion. Witold Pilecki was shot in the back of the head at Warsaw’s Mokotów Prison on May 25th 1948. He was forty-seven years old.

The story of Witold Pilecki lay dormant for decades. It wasn’t until the fall of the communist regime in 1989 that the tale of the man who smuggled himself into Auschwitz became widely known. Today, Pilecki is a venerated figure – a hero of the Polish people. He was posthumously awarded Poland’s highest military honour, the Order of the White Eagle, in 2006.

Witold Pilecki was an incredibly brave man who voluntarily endured the horrors of Auschwitz concentration camp and survived to tell the tale. Now, thanks to Jack Fairweather’s The Volunteer, his astonishing story can finally be told in full. * * * * * * * * * * On 14 October 1942, the 23 Swiss members of the International Committee of the Red Cross met in Geneva to decide whether or not to go public with what they then knew about Auschwitz and the Nazis’ extermination plans. When they emerged two hours later they had voted, almost unanimously, to remain silent. As did the US state department, the British government and the Vatican — all in possession of the same evidence of mass murder across German-occupied Europe.

The reasons given ranged from the danger of reprisals against Allied PoWs to the need to focus on military targets, and thus shorten the war. And, most importantly, because of a profound unwillingness to believe what they had been told. It was not until late December that public statements of condemnation were made, and Anthony Eden told the House of Commons that the Nazis were ‘pursuing a bestial policy of cold- blooded extermination’. Even then, no action was taken.

A monument to Pilecki was unveiled in Warsaw in May 2017. (Czarek Sokolowski/The Associated Press) The final account of anyone seeing Pilecki alive comes from Father Jan 7

Stepien, a Home Army chaplain whose own capital punishment was later changed to a 15-year prison sentence. His description of Pilecki as he was being led to his execution at the Mokotow prison in Warsaw: "He had his mouth tied with a white bandage. Two guards led him by his arms. He could hardly touch the ground with his feet. I don't know if he was conscious then. He seemed completely faint."

The exact location of where Pilecki was buried is unknown. His remains are believed to be either in a meadow next to the Sluzewiec cemetery, or in an area of the Powazki Military Cemetery in Warsaw, also called the meadow, in a mass grave with others who were executed by the post-war communist regime.

Today, there is a tombstone with what had been an empty grave for Pilecki in this cemetery. Pilecki's widow Maria, who died in 2002, is now buried there. Flowers, candles and a small Polish flag with the anchor symbolizing the Polish resistance now decorate the gravesite. On the site of the meadow, a brick monument has been built, with small bronze plaques bearing the names of each of the people believed to be buried there, including Pilecki's. Flowers, candles, and Polish flags decorate the site.

Pilecki's family wasn't notified of his execution at the time. They even went so far as to doubt whether it had happened. "When it came to his sentence, we didn't believe that it had been carried out," his son Andrzej recalled. "We weren't notified, there was no body. We hoped -- especially my mother -- that he would be useful [to the communists], because he knew so much about different organizations, was so active. We deluded ourselves that maybe he was alive somewhere, in Lubyanka [Prison] or in Siberia."

Two years after Pilecki's execution, his son was approached by a former Mokotow prison guard. "I was in prison with your father. I want to help you because your father was a saint," he told Andrzej Pilecki. "I had different tasks, including bringing food to your father. Sometimes he wouldn't touch the food, I wasn't sure if he was praying or thinking. So I would take the food away. Under his influence, I changed my life. I do not harm anyone anymore."

But the years after Pilecki's death were difficult on his family. His widow, a teacher, was unemployed for a year and repeatedly had her job applications rejected. Both of his children found their high school and college ambitions limited because of their father's history. They didn't know about their father's activities during the war at the time, only gradually hearing or reading about it over the years. The family owned property in what is now Belarus, which was taken from them and they were never compensated for it. 8

There were unsuccessful attempts to rehabilitate Pilecki's memory through official channels in 1957 and again in 1974. In 1989, the Board of the Association for the Care of Auschwitz posthumously awarded Pilecki Order of the Auschwitz Cross, and pushed the Polish Minister of Justice to have Pilecki's name cleared. On October 1, 1990, a court exonerated Pilecki and the others condemned with him during the 1948 trial. In the two decades since, Pilecki has been honored the recipient of numerous posthumous honors, with schools and streets named after him in Poland. A bust of Pilecki is included at Jordan Park in Krakow alongside busts of other distinguished Poles like John Paul II and Marie Curie. Nearly six decades after his death, Polish president Lech Kaczynski awarded Pilecki the Medal of the White Eagle, Poland's highest honor.

During the summer of 2012, Polish archaeologists exhumed the remains of nearly 100 skeletons in the mass grave at Powazki Military Cemetery. The hope is that the remains of Pilecki and others can be identified using genetic testing with DNA provided by their descendants. The process is expected to take several months, but even then this might only be the beginning of the process. According to the AP, the mass grave in Powazki is believed to contain the remains of as many as 400 people.

In his introduction to the English translation of Pilecki's report, Norman Davies wrote, "Pilecki's name mirrors the tragic fate of millions whom the West forgot. Only when one grasps the true horror of his fate can one comprehend what the Second World War in Europe was really about."

After several decades of silence and ostracism regarding his father, Andrzej Pilecki is grateful for the posthumous recognition he has been receiving during the past twenty years. "There was a ban of speaking about my father," he said. "There's a rebirth now. Those were terrible times, but more and more people are talking about it, and I don't have a moment's peace at home because there are constantly phone calls and the like. That makes me happy."

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PRESIDENT’S REPORT

We are getting through the winter season and with each days passing spring is just a little closer. February is traditionally a slow month at the Branch which allows us to catch our breath and get ready for the increased workload that begins in March. We will once again have a Fish Fry, this year on March 20th. Tickets have been going well so get yours and enjoy a good time at Branch 63. Our work crew will refinish the Normandy Room floor starting March 10th....FYI. This along with the fresh coat of paint and the cleaning of the drapery will really bring the room back life. Regards Rob * * * * * * * * * *

This actually happened to an Englishman, in France, who was totally drunk.

A French policeman stops the Englishman's car and asks if he has been drinking.

With great difficulty, the Englishman admits that he has been drinking all day, that his daughter got married that morning, and that he drank champagne and a few bottles of wine at the reception, and many single malts scotches thereafter.

Quite upset, the policeman proceeds to alcohol-test (breath test) the Englishman and verifies that he is indeed completely hammered.

He asks the Englishman if he knows why, under French Law, he is going to be arrested.

The Englishman answers with a bit of humor, "No sir, I do not! But while we're asking questions, do you realize that this is a British car and my wife is driving … on the other side? 10

PRESIDENT’S REPORT: Ladies Auxiliary

On March the 8th the time finally changes again and the evenings start to get lighter, all

I can say is HOORAY . I am not sorry to see the winter coming to a close .

It was nice to see you all at the February General Meeting, I realize that it is sometimes not easy to get out to meetings in the bad weather.

The Bull dressed up in his best headband with hearts for Valentine’s Day.

There is a couple of things coming up in the next few months that you all might be interested in. The Branch fish fry is this month on the 20th, the cost is only $10.00 In June we will celebrate our comrades at the Annual Honour and Awards luncheon. The cost is always very reasonable and it would be great to see you there.

I would like you all to start thinking about this year's elections . Come May some of you might want to be a part of the Ladies Auxiliary Executive Yours in Comradeship Sue Cheers

* * * * * * * * * * Newfie Diet

A Newfie was terribly overweight, so the doctor put him on a diet. I want you to eat regularly for 2 days, then skip a day, then eat regularly again for 2 days then skip a day. Repeat this procedure for 2 weeks. The next time I see you, you should have lost at least 5 pounds." When the Newfie returned, he shocked the doctor by having lost nearly 60 lbs.! "That's amazing", the doctor said, "Did you follow my instructions?" The Newfie nodded. "I'll tell you though, bye jaesuz, I t'aut I were going to drop dead on dat 'tird day." "From the hunger, you mean?" asked the doctor. "No, from da friggin' skippin'." 11

2019 - 2020

ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 63

Branch Officers

President Rob Graham 794-9975 1st Vice Hans Muller Poppy Chair 445-6771 2nd Vice Nancy Phillips Youth Education 445-2489 Secretary Vacant Treasurer Pat Graham Membership/Bingo 444-8043

Executive Committee (Standing Committee Chairs appointed by Executive Officers/President)

Don Wilcox Public Relations/Museum Officer 444-5357 Larry Baulke Ways & Means 445-6204 Ruby Klinck Sick and Visiting 445-5153 Ken Templeman Sgt at Arms/Veteran’s Service Officer 444-1307 Julie Steeves-Benson L.A. Liaison 607-7190

Standing Committee Chairs (not actually part of the Executive Committee but appointed by Executive Officers/President)

Chaplin – Reverend Brian Goodings, Trinity United Church 441-0561 Bert Brennan Sports 445-4116 Cedric D'Souza Cadet Liason/Honours & Awards Committee Marie Stephenson Honours & Awards Committee Susan Payne Editor, The Dufflebag 429-8033 Mike Hodgson Assistant Editor website: www.collingwoodlegion.ca

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LADIES AUXILIARY

2019 – 2020

ROYAL CANADIAN LEGION BRANCH 63

Officers

President Sue Muller Bookings/Buyer 445-6771 Past President Helen Jamieson Staffing 445-2368 1st Vice Cathy Kusiar Membership 445-8187 2nd Vice Sharon Helmer Sick & Visiting 445-6785 Secretary Joan Rainbird-Sharp Table Convenor 445-1402 Treasurer Bev Stephenson Ways and Means 888-8712

Executive Committee

Lynda Cain Sgt at Arms 445-2090 Bev Heron Sports 445-0579 Debbie Gruter 429-1983

Standing Committees

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EDITOR’S DESK

The story of Witold Pilecki is told in a book called The Volunteer. The great sacrifice he made to get the story of Auschwitz out to the world fell on deaf ears. The 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz was on January 27th 2020

Hope to see you at Bingo

In comradeship Sue

MIKE’S CORNER THE TATTOO TID BIT Our next stops were Kitchener, Sault Ste. Marie, and Brandon, we had a layover of one day, I decided that the costumes needed to be dry cleaned as they had been worn for many rehearsals and shows and my nose was telling me that it was getting to be a bit much. So I searched for a cleaner that could clean the thirteen hundred costumes in less than twenty four hours. One laughingly agreed and asked how soon I could deliver. I went out of his store, waived at my truck driver; low and behold there was a tractor trailer with all of the costumes in their racks and garment bags. I sent my tailor and seamstress to help with the processing of the garments and to make any repairs. At the Soo, the arena was very small and the dressing rooms were incapable of handling 450 performers. So we used the trailers and set them around the front entrance. The audience came in through the Ice making room. Editorial Comment Please note that the opinions expressed here are those of the writer. Gun play in our cities is increasing and getting out of hand. The present Government’s response, in the opinion of this author, is tantamount to closing the barn door after the horse has left. In the Province of Nova Scotia, I was a Justice of the Peace for some twenty three years. During that period I functioned as the court when it was closed; hence I have experience in dealing with Bails. What always struck me was the granting of a second bail, when the first one had been violated. At no time was the offender held in contempt of court. As a result the criminal element saw this as a minor inconvenience and certainly not a deterrent. The classic case in Nova Scotia was a young man who got his kicks goading 14

Police into a high speed chase. He was arraigned in a court in Windsor, about an hour’s drive from Halifax. His case was to be set over for a hearing. There were some twenty court appearances and bails for this young man. The Prosecutor told the Judge that he was aware of a warrant issued in Halifax and that if Halifax wanted this young man they could come and get him, but he saw no reason to hold him. Ninety minutes later, this young man hit a car on a major city street in Halifax and killed a teacher's assistant. Just recently a man, charged with committing a violent crime was released on Bail and yet violated that bail and murdered a child in Winnipeg. So the Justice system, with its fixation on the Charter of Rights is not serving the community it is supposed to protect. The weapons are out there, even in the schools where we have witnessed a murder by school children on school grounds in front of the mother of the victim. So what to do. First, any crime that involves a weapon is automatically an adult crime. No discretion for the judges. Also minimum bail is ten thousand dollars cash. The use of a weapon in the commission of a crime carries an automatic twenty five years with no chance of parole at all. The sentence for the crime is then added to the twenty five years. The court must also examine the damage to the victim and the victim’s family and ensure that they receive the compensation necessary to ameliorate the consequences of the crime. In order to dismantle the gangs that seem to figure prominently in the weapons crimes scenario; perhaps the introduction of National Service might provide the community with the tools to offset some of the reasons that young people enter gangs. At least paying them as a Private Soldier would be cheaper than putting them behind bars. Just a thought. In comradeship Mike

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SPORTS REPORT

The Branch went to the District darts in February where despite a great showing by all only Matt Favalaro will move on to the next level. Good luck Matt.

The Red Patch tournament was well attended again with a turnout of 54 players. The winners for the day were Dave Black and Dillon Pierce in 1st place followed by Glenn M and Zack O'Gorman. Special thanks to Bev Stephenson and Hans Muller for the great food.

Green Patch will be on the 14th of this month come on out and try your luck. The Branch will once again host the mixed darts tournament on March 7th.

Yours in Comradeship Bert Brennan Sports Officer * * * * * * * * * * YOUTH EDUCATION

The District results have been received and Branch 63 did not receive any awards.

Tough competition this year with District B and C. The Public speaking was held on February 3rd with 4 Junior and 4 Intermediate speakers. Advancing on is Sonja Ferris from Nottawa Elementary School representing the Junior division. and in the Intermediate is Lily Pearce from Nottawa Elementary School.

I would like to thank the parents, teachers and the schools for their continued support in the public speaking aspect of the Legion Youth Education Program especially through the schools dispute.

I would like to thank Shirley Martin my assistant and all the Timekeepers, Judges and Mike Edwards for being the master of ceremonies. He always does a good job. Lastly I would like to thank the President and Executive for having the faith in me for performing my chair.

Yours in comradeship Nancy Phillips Chair When my grandson asked me how old I was, I teasingly replied, "I'm not sure." "Look in your underwear, Grandpa," he advised "Mine says I'm 4 to 6." (WOW! I really like this one -- it says I'm only '38'!) 16

CROSSWORD

Down Across 1. Luxury craft (5) 1. Young person (5) 2. Articulated (7) 4. Sharp pointed implements (7) 3. Innocuous (8) 8. Butterfly larva (11) 4. Disturbances (6) 9. Exhilarated (8) 5. Snakelike fish (4) 10. Yield (4) 6. Big (5) 12. Humble (6) 7. Earnest (7) 13. Ineffectual (6) 11. Sudden unexpected event (8) 16. Movable barrier (4) 12. Sorcerous (7) 18. Drover (8) 14. Mass of frozen water (7) 21. Glorious (11) 15. Furniture items (6) 22. Scaling devices (7) 17. Diffident (5) 23. Surface boundaries ( 19. Days of the month (5) 20. Fiend (4) WAYS and MEANS

There will be a Meat Roll on March 28th at 2 p.m.

Larry Baulke Chair 17

SAMURAI SUDOKU PUZZLE

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227 Hurontario Street Collingwood, Ontario L9Y 2M8 (705) 444-0389 18

SICK AND VISITING

Since my last report Fruit baskets were delivered to Donna White, Jan Duff, and Bob Payne. All the very best of wishes for a speedy recovery, go out to these folks.. A sympathy card was sent to Gail Middlebrook in the passing of Bill and a sympathy card was sent to the family of Fred Whitehead on his passing.

Our thoughts go out to the "Shut-Ins, the Sick and the Grieving. Should any comrade need help kindly call the Legion.

Yours in Good Health and Comradeship Ruby Klinck & Pat Graham Chair

MUSEUM REPORT I hope you all have noticed the new look on the flags in the Branch. It is a great way of displaying them and we in the museum thank President Rob for the idea. Comrade Carmen Culbert has been a great help. We made changes to the eastern wall. We are still working on getting the photographs in the right place. We also have a routine that the glass in the Museum gets cleaned once a week or more if needed. I had a meeting with Mountain View teacher Jeff Larmer and he is already looking at ideas for Remembrance Week Posters. We have talked about cutting the numbers some and making the posters as local as possible. We are so lucky to have this teacher who really teaches his students about Canadian Military History Comrade Don Wilcox Chair * * * * * * * * * *

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WORD SEARCH

* * * * * * * * * * MEMBERSHIP REPORT

Please welcome the following new members to Branch 63,. Harold Sencar, an Affiliate Voting from Collingwood and Paul Zvonkin, an Affiliate Voting from Wasaga Beach. Also, the following have transferred their memberships to this Branch. Herbert Mueller, an Ordinary Member, from Branch 457, Stayner and Nick Condy, an Associate Member from Branch 457, Stayner. Please make our new members feel welcome at Branch 63.

The cost for joining Branch 63 in 2020 is $70 and must be paid before your membership is processed. You can join the Legion on line at legion.ca, however, once you do this you must put in a transfer form in order for your membership to be transferred to Branch 63. Dominion command is continuing to run a campaign that allows active CAF military/Rcmp and retired CAF military /Rcmp, who have never been members of the Legion to join on line for free for the first year. Once you join, you need to transfer your membership to a branch. New members can also join online at legion.ca. Remember to 20 transfer your membership to Branch 63 or the branch of your choice once you are notified of your legion number.

Members are being encouraged to enter their email address on their profile, which can be updated at legion.ca or submitted to the Branch. Members with an email on file before April 1, 2020, will be automatically entered into a draw to win a prize package of one $500 Canada Post Visa Gift Card- plus an extra $500 Visa Gift Card for their Legion Branch. This is an excellent way to receive information from Dominion Command.

Please note that members who had not renewed their 2020 membership by January 31, will be receiving a direct mail renewal reminder. If you receive a notice but renewed after January 31, please disregard. Also, members of Branch 63 who had not renewed by January 31, 2020 have been removed from the membership board and drum. Once you renew, your name will be put back on the board and in the drum.

If you need to contact me you can leave a message with the bar staff, or email me at [email protected]

Yours in Comradeship Pat Graham Membership Chair * * * * * * * * * * CROSSWORD SOLUTION Did I read that sign right? “TOILET OUT OF ORDER. PLEASE USE FLOOR BELOW” In a Laundromat: AUTOMATIC WASHING MACHINES: PLEASE REMOVE ALL YOUR CLOTHES WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT In a London department store: BARGAIN BASEMENT UPSTAIRS In an office: WOULD THE PERSON WHO TOOK THE STEP LADDER YESTERDAY PLEASE BRING IT BACK OR FURTHER STEPS WILL BE TAKEN 21

PRO REPORT

Branch 229 in Elora has drawn attention to a program we have been part of for some time. That being the “Pop Tabs for Wheelchairs” Campaign”. This program helps the Legion support Veterans and their families and some friends. You can leave them at the bar any time. This program was started by the Elora Branch in 1989. I am not sure how long we have been doing IT, but it is some time. March 7 is the Zone Mixed Dart event here. Green Patch Dart Tournament is set for the 14th. Fish Fry on March 20th Couple evening set with the King by Elvis Tribute Artists. Those dates are in May. See posters in the Lobby. Comrade Mike Hodgson is working on a May 8 Battle of the Atlantic program. Anyone interested in this project can contact Comrade Mike at Raglan Village. Comrade Don Wilcox PR Officer * * * * * * * * * * TRIVIA

 Pigs by law in England must be provided with toys.  By law you must have a hunting licence to catch mice in Cleveland Ohio.  The skin of a tiger is striped not it's fur.  The first state to allow woman to vote was Wyoming.  A large statue of Winnie-the-Pooh is in Lima Peru.  There is twenty feet of blood vessels in each square inch of human skin.  The can was invented 48 years before the can opener.  To make one sugar cube you need one yard of sugarcane.  In Central Park it is a crime to go swimming.  If they can't find food some ribbon worms will eat themselves.  Hemp paper was used to write The Declaration of Independence.  Dodge engines were used in the first Ford cars.  When you sneeze it is impossible to keep your eyes open. 22

 To keep himself cool Babe Ruth had a cabbage leaf under his cap.  It is a crime in France to sell a doll without a human face.  It is a crime in Russia to drive a dirty car.  Gorillas can use human birth control pills.  To avoid having an unlucky third marriage a Hindu man would marry a tree. This could then be burnt, leaving him free to marry again.  Cow attacks occur more often than shark attacks.  The 'Speaker' in the British House of parliament is not permitted to speak.  To prevent crying while cutting onions, chew gum.  The color blue can be seen by owls.  Male mosquitoes do not bite.  Bees kill more people every year than snakes.  A skein is a group of flying geese.  If you put a porcupine in water it will float.  A dentist invented the electric chair.

_ "VISION VOICE VALUE" GEORGIAN BAY CHAPTER 14 Email: [email protected] Phone 705‐888‐9204

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WEB PAGE REPORT Our web page is still out there. (collingwoodlegion.ca) . Please check out the Photo Gallery to view the pictures from Remembrance Day and the Robbie Burns Dinner and Dance on January 25. Many thanks go out to Marianne Templeman who captured so many great moments and shared the pictures with us so that we could enjoy and remember them throughout the year. Pat Graham Web Page Coordinator

SICK AND VISITING LADIES AUXILIARY

A gift card was sent to Deb Dyeman who has a broken thumb. Jean Simpson was sent flowers she was in hospital for a month. Dianne Wilcox received a get well card.

Keep in touch ladies Yours in comradeship Sharon Helmer Chair * * * * * * * * * *

Meat and Poultry, Vegetables, Seafood, Heat’N Serve & Prepared Foods, Hors D’oeuvres & Party Foods, Desserts, Gift Cards

5% discount for purchases below $30.00 10% discount for purchases over $30.00 Open Seven Days a Week 560 First Street, Collingwood, 705-444-8248

Greg and Christina Foster, Owners

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SAMURAI SUDOKU PUZZLE SOLUTION

* * * * * * * * * *

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LAST POST

WHITEHEAD, Fred Passed away peacefully at home with his family by his side on Monday, February, 17 2020 in his 96th year. Fred, beloved husband of the late Joan (2014), father of the late Sharyn-Anne (2007) and her husband Brian LePage and loving grandfather of Nicole (Derek)LePage- Mero. He will be remembered by his sister Elinor (the late Norman) Burgess, sister-in-law Margaret (the late Earl) Wood, nephews David (Jan)Burgess and John Burgess, great nephew and niece James and Katie Burgess, nieces Shirley and Nancy and great niece Cree. Fred will be deeply missed by his dear friend Cathy Wilson. Fred was a WW II Navy Veteran and long time active member of Branch 63. Fred was an active tagger at Remembrance Day and always was in the Remembrance day parade (in good and bad weather). He marched for years and then rode his scooter when his health started declining. Fred, along with Brian, Nicole and Derek were active participates in our meat rolls and karaoke parties. He especially enjoyed the Canada Day karaoke afternoon where he was the star attraction. Fred will be deeply missed by all of us at Branch 63. A celebration of life will be held from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, April 26 at the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 63. MIDDLEBROOK, Bill Bill passed away peacefully at home surrounded by the love of his family on Tuesday, February 11, 2020 in his 78th year. Bill, loving husband of Gail (nee Stoutenburg) will be forever loved and deeply missed by his son Michael (Shelley), daughter Shelley (Rob Sydia), son in law Richard Wismer and grandchildren Madison(Adam), Sydney(Cy) and Isabella. He is survived by his brothers Kyle(Barbara), Armand (Maria) and Lindsay(Dottye), sister Birdie (Ian) Coutts, brother-in-law Alex Pier, sisters -in-law Wendy (John) Redman and Kathy Kelly, predeceased by sister Lynn Pier. A celebration of life will be held on Saturday, March 7, 2020 at the Royal Canadian Legion Collingwood from 1- 4pm. Bill was a member of Collingwood Branch for 48 years and was a regular member. He will be deeply missed by all of us at the Branch. His good humour and love of his family, his friends and golf will always be remembered 26

Open daily - Tuesday through Saturday 11:30 a.m.to 8:00 p.m. Closed on Sunday & Monday, our only days off.

A fine Selection of Beers and Wines A Licensed Patio LLBO Reasonably Priced Menu Gluten-free and Vegetarian Options.

Take Out or Dine In

206 Hurontario Street, Collingwood, Ontario 705-293-7477

Phone ahead to have your order ready if you wish.

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THIS DAY IN HISTORY 461 March 17 Saint Patrick dies On this day in 461 A.D., Saint Patrick, Christian missionary, bishop and apostle of Ireland, dies at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland. Much of what is known about Patrick’s legendary life comes from the Confessio, a book he wrote during his last years. Born in Great Britain, probably in Scotland, to a well-to- do Christian family of Roman citizenship, Patrick was captured and enslaved at age 16 by Irish marauders. For the next six years, he worked as a herder in Ireland, turning to a deepening religious faith for comfort. Following the counsel of a voice he heard in a dream one night, he escaped and found passage on a ship to Britain, where he was eventually reunited with his family. According to the Confessio, in Britain Patrick had another dream, in which an individual named Victoricus gave him a letter, entitled “The Voice of the Irish.” As he read it, Patrick seemed to hear the voices of Irishmen pleading him to return to their country and walk among them once more. After studying for the priesthood, Patrick was ordained a bishop. He arrived in Ireland in 433 and began preaching the Gospel, converting many thousands of Irish and building churches around the country. After 40 years of living in poverty, teaching, traveling and working tirelessly, Patrick died on March 17, 461 in Saul, where he had built his first church. Since that time, countless legends have grown up around Patrick. Made the patron saint of Ireland, he is said to have baptized hundreds of people on a single day, and to have used a three-leaf clover–the famous shamrock–to describe the Holy Trinity. In art, he is often portrayed trampling on snakes, in accordance with the belief that he drove those reptiles out of Ireland. For centuries, the Irish have observed the day of Saint Patrick’s death as a religious holiday, attending church in the morning and celebrating with food and drink in the afternoon. The first St. Patrick’s Day parade, though, took place not in Ireland, but the United States, when Irish soldiers serving in the English military marched through New York City in 1762. As the years went on, the parades became a show of unity and strength for persecuted Irish-American immigrants, and then a popular celebration of Irish-American heritage. The party went global in 1995, when the Irish government began a large-scale campaign to market St. Patrick’s Day as a way of driving tourism and showcasing Ireland’s many charms to the rest of the world. Today, March 17 is a day of international celebration, as millions of people around the globe put on their best green clothing to drink beer, watch parades and toast the luck of the Irish. 28

CARTOONS FOR FUN

Pickles

Garfield

Peanuts2

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NO REPORTS THIS EDITION

LADIES AUXILIARY LIASON

In comradeship Julie Steeves Benson Ladies Auxiliary Liason Chair

POPPY REPORT

Yours in comradeship Hans Muller Poppy Chair

April

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 Ladies Darts LA Executive Bid Euchre Meeting Cadets Euchre 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 BINGO Executive Ladies Darts LA General Bid Euchre Mixed Darts Meeting Euchre Men’s Darts Pipe Band 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 BINGO Men’s Darts General Cadets Mixed Darts Pipe Band Meeting Euchre Ladies Darts Bid Euchre 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 BINGO Men’s Darts Ladies Darts Cadets Tartan Pipe Band Bid Euchre Mixed Darts Euchre Fling 26 27 28 29 30 BINGO Men’s Darts Ladies Darts Cadets Bid Euchre Mixed Darts Pipe Band Euchre 2020