On the door of the Bradford Legion is a notice, asking visitors if they are experiencing any symptoms of the COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, or if they have recently returned from travel abroad.
“If you answered yes to any of these questions, please limit your contact with others to help prevent the spread of infection,” the notice states, reminding visitors to use the hand-sanitizer provided, and wash hands frequently.
But the Legion isn’t at the stage of shutting down. With no immediate threat in the community, as of Saturday morning, organizers decided that there was no reason to cancel the planned St. Patrick’s Day dinner and dance on Saturday night, raising money for the Legion and its veterans.
Siixty-six ticket were sold for the event, but just over 40 guests came out for the dinner of Irish stew, buns and dessert, followed by dancing to the band, Who’s Your Daddy?
“It’s a small gathering,” said Legion president Tammy Paglia – certainly much smaller than the ‘hundreds’ that would trigger a health warning.
Besides, Paglia noted, “We’re taking extra precautions.” Servers were all equipped with gloves, “and we have hand-sanitizer.”
She noted that the money raised by events like the St. Patrick's Day dinner and dance support not only the Legion, but local charities like the Helping Hand Food Bank, Canadian Tire JumpStart, and the new 37 Bradford Air Cadet Squadron.
"It's not just a fun party to come out to, there's a good cause behind it, and you're helping your community in a variety of ways," Paglia said.
The Legion is a non-profit organization, Paglia noted. "It's a great community gathering place."
Legion treasurer Linda Gulston agreed. "We all do this because we're dedicated to the veterans, both old and young." She pointed out that the Legion is open to the public, not just members - and that members now are more likely to include family members or descendants of veterans.
"Once you get here, you stay for the camaraderie and the good feelings that we have when we know we have done something to take care of our vets," said Gulston.
At this point, “it’s a personal choice” – whether to come out to the Legion for activities, or stay away – but Paglia acknowledged that things could quickly change. The Legion will be holding an executive meeting to decide if its programs will continue, if the COVID-19 threat escalates.
Some programs, like cards – where there’s a lot of contact, passing cards back and forth – are likely to be temporarily cancelled, she said.
It was a similar story over at the Lefroy-Belle Ewart Legion in Innisfil. While it may become necessary to cancel programs in the future, for now activities like the weekly Fun Darts, and the St. Patrick’s Dance held on Saturday night, will continue.
"Schools, daycares, anything the town runs, they are now shut down for safety,” noted dance organizer Denis Mainville at the Lefroy Legion, but normally “we don’t have mass crowding - except for today!”
Anyone with flu-like symptoms was encouraged to stay away, and hand-washing was encouraged – but no-one was deterred from coming out to enjoy a social evening, with music provided by Paul Rogers of TNT DJ services.
Mainville, a veteran of the Gulf War, said he was unwilling to let a virus currently limited in its spread, close down the Legion and its work. "As a veteran, this is close to my heart - getting more veterans involved!”
“You gotta support the Legion,” agreed Innisfil Councillor Bill Van Berkel, dressed in his best St. Patrick’s Day outfit.
With files from Dave Kramer.