The Heritage Corner, Springhill Record

August 31st, 2011

The Springhill Record – Dec. 23, 1948 –

Legion Opens New Hall For Inspection Sunday

     The Springhill Branch No. 17, of the Canadian Legion, will open their new $32,000 home on Elgin Street on Sunday, December 26th, for public inspection between the hours of 2-5 p.m. and 8-10 p.m.  The branch extends a cordial invitation to the citizens to view their new home.

     The official opening of the Legion building will take place on January 1st at 7:30 p.m. when officers for the ensuing year will be installed.  There will be a musical program and short addresses.

     The building has a 40 foot front and a depth of 60 feet.  It has a large basement and one storey and is constructed with tile with a brick front.  Above the large main entrance a stone donated by J.A. Tingley and Son of Amherst, carries the following inscription:

Memorial Hall

Canadian Legion

1948

     The main auditorium is on the first floor.  It is finished with a hardwood floor, Donna conda Board with flush lighting built right into the ceiling.  The ceiling has been painted white and the walls cream and ivory.  A kitchen, equipped with an electric stove, modern cupboards etc, is connected with the main floor.

     The basement has been divided into several sections.  Here offices have been prepared for the Legion’s own use and the Women’s Auxilliary.  The main floor space in the basement has been divided into two large rooms, one to be used as a recreation and reading room, the other as a beverage room.  There is no interlocking door between the two rooms, but each has a separate entrance.

     The building is heated by a large steam plant.

     Plans for the building were laid last February and the work has been progressing all summer under the direction of the ten man committee.  In charge of finances were Douglas Johnson, President of the Legion, Gerald McCormick and Harold Osmond.  Material – Ed Nicholson, W.C. Wilson, George C. Burden.  Employment – S.E. Wood, Logan Melton and Jack Hannah.  Stephen Pike was the secretary.

Nov. 29, 1949 – Dial System Ready for December 3rd

     At 11:00 p.m. on Saturday, December 3rd the switch will be thrown, connecting Springhill with the new dial system installed by the Maritime Telegraph and Telephone Company and which will then be ready to serve the people of this town.  It will be a new era in telephone service for Springhill and one that will meet the full approval of our people.

     A special ceremony is being planned for the occasion and it is expected that Mayor A.J. Mason will be asked to send the first call out over the new system.  Invitations are going out to the members of the Town Council, The Board of Trade and the Press to attend the ceremony.

Feb. 4, 1954 – May Organize Junior Baseball

Johnny Carroll, of Malden, Mass., who has been coaching in the Maritimes for the past few years, has called a meeting in Moncton on February 27th in an effort to set up a Board to govern junior baseball in the Maritimes. Johnny thinks junior baseball in the Maritimes, which attracted scouts from Brooklyn, Pittsburg, Milwaukee and Boston last season, doesn’t have to take a back seat to any league in Canada.  It will be recalled that three Springhill boys were selected to go South with the pros this spring.  They are Eugene White, Keith Bourgeois and Joe Gillis.  Don’t think the boys are itching to get away, either.