Royal Canadian Legion Branch #54 Grande Prairie (photo by Liam Verster)

By Liam Verster

Royal Canadian Legion Branch #54

Grande Prairie Legion seeking names for new patio, bar to represent modern veterans

Apr 21, 2021 | 1:10 PM

The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 54 in Grande Prairie is in the process of getting a patio area established and a new bar built, and are seeking public input for names to put on these items.

Frank Skolly, the Vice President of the Grande Prairie Legion, says they have a tradition of putting names on their amenities.

“There’s three major rooms in the Legion. The main hall is called the Lancaster Hall room, it’s named after a World War II bomber; the Lounge is called the Ortona Room, which is named after a battle between the Canadian Army and Italy during World War II; and the basement room is called the Corvette Room, which is named after a naval ship from World War II,” says Skolly.

“So now we’re building a new deck, we would like to put something that represents our modern day veterans.”

The Legion is in the process of obtaining a lease for a bit of green space from the City of Grande Prairie between their building and the Centre for Creative Arts. Once that process is done, they will need to get a building permit in order to make the patio/deck.

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Skolly says once the permits are acquired and work building the patio area can begin, they will be looking for some help from the public.

“We’re looking for donations to help us get it done. Lumber material (price) is horrendous now, so donations that way and volunteers to help us build it.”

The Legion is looking for input for names that represent modern veterans. The current leading contender is Ma‘şūm Ghar, which is the name of a forward operating base in Afghanistan where Canadians troops were stationed.

Skolly says they want more ideas like the base name to represent the modern day veteran, rather than memorial-style names for the patio.

The Legion is also getting a new bar, which they would also like to find a fitting name for.

“We’re going to build a brand new bar, a steel bar. It will be a military-industrial look, modern. We’re trying to modernize the Legion and get it so you don’t think of it as your grandfather’s Legion anymore.”

Scolly says they want to get input directly from modern veterans, who can submit their name ideas to the Legion via their Facebook page.

He says they expect to have the patio built and open in late May or early June.