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It is a spring day typical of coastal cities like Halifax: the sunny sky invites people outside to play—and a brisk, chilly wind quickly chases them back inside. But that doesn’t stop a few stalwarts from donning sweaters and jackets and slapping on hats to enjoy Camp Hill Veterans’ Memorial Garden.

The breeze rustling new leaves on the trees, the splash of water in the stone and metal poppy fountain, the smell of sun-warmed earth and the sight of cheery tulips just make you feel glad to be alive, a fact not lost on the residents of Camp Hill Veterans Memorial […]

Ninety years can be an insuperable gulf of time: time for doers of great deeds to pass on, their feats forgotten even by descendants. Time for thrilling exploits to become dusty memories in albums and diaries. And, finally, time for facts to be condensed into dry tracts in textbooks, stripped of the visceral individual experiences, the fear and pain and longing and suffering and willingness even to die in the line of duty. John Alexander McLean, a teenager from Cape Breton, was killed in action at Lens in 1917. His body was not recovered from the battlefield. It is likely […]

After participating in the serious business side of dominion convention, delegates look forward to some socializing and being entertained at evening suppers and receptions hosted by local Legion branches or provincial commands.

This year the entertainment and socializing was truly royal, thanks to The Royal Canadian Legion’s godson Prince Floris of the Netherlands and his bride, Princess Aimée. “I want to meet as many of my godfathers and godmothers as I can,” the Prince said during the opening ceremonies for the Legion’s 42nd dominion convention, June 21-25, in Ottawa. And over the following days—and nights—he did.

Typical was Nova Scotia/Nunavut […]

Myths About Eggs Showing Cracks

Recent research is casting new light on the old adage you are what you eat, at least as far as cholesterol is concerned.

For about a generation consumers have been warned to stay away from cholesterol-laden foods, in the belief that what goes in the mouth ends up in the blood stream, where it was thought dietary cholesterol contributed to plaque build-up in blood vessels and development of heart disease. Eggs, with their high-cholesterol content, became taboo for the cholesterol-conscious.

But new studies show it is fat—or rather, certain types of fat—that increase the risk of heart […]

The 2008 Dominion Command Cribbage Championships was one of those events where all the elements—the weather, the people, the ambience—combine to make a perfect experience.

Card players gathered at Grand Bend, Ont., Branch for the three-day championships April 25-27 often wished out loud that the event had been longer, just to stretch out the fun. But there was some serious card-playing and fierce competition before teams from the East Coast, the West Coast and the Prairies took home first-place honours.

The careful planning of the Local Arrangements Committee, headed by Grand Bend Branch President Ron Crown, left organizers relaxed and confident to […]

Dr. Allan Hawryluk was dreading the difficult hours ahead—his patient was on blood thinners, and bleeding uncontrollably following a tooth extraction. The Mississauga dentist knew it could be hours before the bleeding was brought under control with sutures and chemical compounds.

Then he tried a sample of the new HemCon dental dressing. “The bleeding stopped completely and immediately,” he said. “I just didn’t believe it.” In the year since he first used it he has gone on to use the new dressing to stop bleeding in the mouth of a National Hockey League player who “was able to return to […]

Healthy Smile, Healthy Heart

Brushing and flossing doesn’t just prevent tooth loss—it may also be important to preventing heart disease.

U.S. researchers have found evidence that bacteria associated with gum disease plays a role in plaque formation in blood vessels in people exposed to the bacteria for a long time.

For years it’s been known there’s an association between periodontal (gum) disease and heart disease, and this research, which appeared in the Journal of Periodontology in December, sheds new light on the connection.

The research team at Howard University in Washington, D.C., made up of periodontologists, stroke specialists and researchers looking for causes […]

With performance space in Regina in short supply over the last few years, arts groups have been grateful for the Atlantic Auditorium in The Royal Canadian Legion building. And now the branch is looking to the local arts community to breathe new life into the grand old structure.

With shrinking membership, plummeting revenues from the bar and restaurant, and rapidly rising utility costs, the branch has more building than it can afford.

In its heyday, Regina Branch had 3,000 very active members and every inch of the 28,000-square foot building was used. “When I was president in 1962…the monies from the Vimy […]

Robert Anderson dreams of the day he can once again look at a pencil and pick it up with his left hand, something he has not been able to do since he lost most of his left arm and his left leg in a helicopter crash in 2006. The wildfire ranger from Grande Prairie, Alta., has a mechanical arm with a hook on the end.

In March, Anderson underwent nerve- implantation surgery that should make it possible for him to operate a revolutionary bionic arm. He is now waiting to see if the nerves have grown and will allow him […]

The outcome of the 2008 Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Curling Championships turned out to hinge on the luck of the draw.

When curlers and supporters gathered in the comfortable and bright Parkland Recreation Complex in Dauphin, Man., on the last day of play, everyone was looking forward to an afternoon tiebreaker.

Saskatchewan and Quebec were tied with records of five wins and one loss. Given performance over the previous three days of skip Rob Maclean, Danny Belliveau, Allan Jones, Greg Wilson and fifth John Burgess of Hudson, Que., Branch and skip Andrew Hay, Rick Middleton, Les Kun and Darren Clancy of Nutana […]