Mid-April is the time when we set aside a few days to celebrate the volunteers who are the heart and soul of our communities.
We all know that, as the population of rural Canada has declined, the number of people available to carry out volunteer activities has gone down as well. The need has not lessened, but the numbers are no longer there, and many volunteers are growing older.
This was brought home to me in a very graphic way recently when I was asked to attend what, I was told, would probably be the last Legion Auxiliary zone rally to be held in our town.
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The president told me the group has agreed to stay together until the year 2000, at which time the members will decide on the future of the auxiliary.
Since rallies are held every two years and there are six auxiliaries in the zone, the math alone shows the probability that the president was right, that this would be the last rally hosted by our auxiliary.
District representative Doris Kool, in her remarks to the rally, said we are enrolling few if any new members.
Quite a few members have passed on and most of the younger women prefer, for various reasons, to belong to the Legion proper.
She said that when the auxiliaries were first formed, one of their aims was to help war brides become adjusted to their new homes and communities.
Now, Kool said, it is a matter of supporting the veterans in any way possible as well as supporting each other.
Young people are not forgotten. Many branches support the annual Saskatchewan Telemiracle, give bursaries and scholarships to local schools and music festivals and support the Legion track and field fund.
During the summer of 1974, when I first came to Saskatchewan for a stay of any length, one of the things that impressed me was the fact that every community seemed to have a Legion Hall and an active Branch and Auxiliary.
Over the years, in my own community and others, I have watched the membership age and numbers dwindle.
The Legion proper seems to be attracting some new members as children of veterans are admitted to membership; the same is not happening with the auxiliaries. Nothing is forever, but as we witness the decline in numbers of these groups, we must surely ask ourselves who will pick up the slack if and when these groups fold.
