There may be 400,000 people serving the Royal Canadian Legion in Canada, but Smith’s local branch #248 has been struggling to maintain its membership. With around 40 members, some would say it is remarkable considering the town’s small size were it not for the fact that it had over 100 members just a few short years ago.
Shannon Pearson is the outgoing president of Smith’s Legion. She’s at a loss to explain the downturn in interest.
“Our membership has been slowly declining for whatever reason,” says Pearson. “It’s not just happening to this Legion, it happening to a lot of Legions across Canada. I can’t understand why. Our dues are only $30 a year and sometimes you have to go after members to pay. If you don’t hound them, they may not remember.”
Even with its relatively small base, the Smith Legion still manages to do good things. Several different organizations in Smith have benefited from the Legion’s charitable mandate.
“The Legion is required to donate half of all its yearly revenue,” says Pearson. “This year we donated $824 to The Spiral of Life, a local cancer support group. We also donated to the school, the Gentle Ben Care Society, our cemeteries, the resource centre, and our seniors. If there is a group that needs our help, we will oblige them.”
On Remembrance Day, the Legion did something that hasn’t been done in eight years. In addition to the annual laying of wreaths at 11:00 a.m., there was a sit down supper that evening for 45 people.
“It was nice. It was such a nice day, we didn’t know if that would make people come out or make them do something else,” says Pearson. “The meal was catered by (local resident) Dorey McConaghy and was served by the (Smith School) student council. These things can be unpredictable, but it was really nice this year.”
Pearson makes it clear that without community support, there could be no Legion.
“We can only make money if people support us,” she says. “We make some money with our bar, but without membership, there’s not much we can do. There is a small handful of people who really love the Legion and we would love to welcome some new members. Come out and see what you think. We’re hoping to have a supper every other weekend, sports night on Mondays with darts and shuffleboard. We used to play rummy at the Legion every night. I’d like to that again.”
As Pearson prepares to step down as the head of the Smith Legion, she is mindful of the fact that maintain the hall is not a one person show.
“My hat goes off to Don and Betty Dixon, Wayne Rempel, Mann Fairbrother, and Maureen Kyllo. I don’t want to forget anyone, and these people tried their hardest to help us succeed. I’ve been president for four years. That’s a long time and it will be good to give someone else a chance now.”

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