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fer the vecordyn Born in Lindsay, but a resident of Port Perry for the past 48 years, Lucy Wilson LUCY leads a busy and active life. This energetic mother and grandmother holds the distinction of serving as the first woman president of the Port Perry Legion, a position she’s held for the past five years. As Remembrance Day approaches, we WILSON asked Lucy to answer the following 10 questions, giving her thoughts about the Royal Canadian Legion and SueseNes Day just... for the record’ . 1. Name one person you would have liked to have met? | can’t say only one person. Some of our vets have told wonderful stories of when they were younger and | think | would have liked to have seen them when they made the decision to go to war and what their thoughts were at the time. 6. How do you feel about the ‘Highway of Heroes’? The Highway of Heroes is truly the most important recog- nition that we have for our soldiers who have given their all in the service of their country. | am very proud to travel on this road and see this very visible sign of our respect. 7. What is the importance of the ‘poppy’ to the Legion veterans’ The ‘poppy’ is the very visible sign of the Royal Canadian Legion. We wear the poppy to honour our fallen comrades on i” occasion of their passing and it speaks 2. When was the Royal Canadian Legion started and why? The Legion was founded as the Canadian Legion of the British Empire Service League in 1925. The Royal Canadian Legion was formed in 1926 to try to make one orga- nization for veterans from a number of other groups which had grown up after the war. In 1960 the word “Royal” was added to the legion name with consent of the Queen. The Royal Canadian Le- gion was chartered in Port Perry in 1946. of the respect we have for them. Poppies distributed to Canadians of all ages serves to perpetuate Remembrance by insuring that the memory and sacrifices of our veterans are never forgotten. 8. Do the relatively small crowds that attend Remembrance Day service locally disap- point you? I think everyone would like to see a greater tumout of more people but I think there are a lot of people, for whatever reason, cannot get to our ceremonies but still in their own way take time to remember. I'm never disappointed because | truly believe everyone does remember. 3. What’s something you use every day, or can't live without? A newspaper or a book. When | was young | delivered a newspaper and as a young adult | worked for the Lindsay Post. | think every day since then | have read at least one or more newspapers. I’m an avid reader and read a book almost every day. 4. What is the function of the Royal Canadian Legion of today’ To provide a strong voice for veterans and help- ing them with whatever they need. The declining number of veterans does impact the Legion to some extent but with the state of the world today there will be veterans in the future. We will have to change in time as our vets decline but hopefully we will do this gradually as we find a new direction. 9. What programs and groups does the local Legion support? The local Legion supports many groups, including, minor softball, hockey, Terry Fox Run, Lakeridge Health Port Perry, high school bursaries, Port Perry Curling Club and many others. 10. Is there anyone in particular 5. Why should we take time out on November 11 to attend a Remembrance Day service? The freedoms we have today are ones fought for with the loss of countless lives of the young men and women of a different generation. We need to remind the younger generations so they know where this country came from and who to thank on this day of Remembrance. | take time to remember my grand- father on my father’s side. Since | joined the Legion | have become more interested in his history. We did not know that he was part of the Canadian Expeditionary Forces. FOCUS - NOVEMBER 2008 17