Local Legion closing its doors for good

Fort Garry

South Osborne

Fort Garry Legion Branch #90 will be closing its doors for the last time on Nov. 30.

Having previously been located at 1125 Pembina Ave. since 1947, the Legion moved to the site of a former Pizza Hut restaurant at 762 Pembina Ave. in 2022.

“We’ve been losing money since the day we moved there (the new location),” co-vice-president Garry Reid said recently. “We thought the move was going to be ideal, but we’ve been losing money and we’ve finally reached the point where we can’t continue.”

Reid, a lifelong Fort Garry resident who has been involved with the Legion for decades, said the Legion will now amalgamate with the Winnipeg South Osborne Legion Branch #252. He noted Legion members affected by the imminent Fort Garry closure will be able to transfer their membership to another branch of their choosing.

Describing the current Legion building at 762 Pembina Ave. as “bright, shiny and inviting,” Reid said he feels the word Legion conjures up certain images for people.

“I think, no matter what we’d built, people envision old guys sitting around a table drinking beer, which doesn’t necessarily suggest it’s a modern enough space or a place that plays loud music,” Reid said, noting Legion staples have included dances, trivia nights, and cribbage sessions. He also noted that many folks don’t necessarily know they now don’t need to be a member of a Legion to visit one.

He said in the branch’s heyday in the sixties and seventies, membership hit 1,500 at one point. Now it’s down to around 300. Reid also believes that closures the COVID-19 years had a detrimental effect on traffic at the branch: “I think lots of members didn’t return.”

There will, however, be plenty of activity at the branch before it closes its doors for the last time at the end of next month. It will hold its usual Remembrance Day commemoration on Nov. 11, and there will also be a farewell event on Nov. 29, when the band Dance In Your Pants will perform.

“It will be our last Remembrance Day event, and it certainly will be packed. And we usually have awesome results from our poppy campaign,” Reid said. “We’re expecting a packed house on November 29th.”

Reid will serve on a transition board during the amalgamation process of the two southwest Winnipeg Legions.

Visit Royal Canadian Legion Pembina Hwy Branch on Facebook for more information.