Legion post hosts annual international Gavel Passing

American Legion and Royal Canadian Legion members gathered to honor their comrades, living and dead, and the men and women serving today in a remembrance ceremony, part of the two organizations' annual Gavel Passing, held last weekend at American Legion Post No. 97 in Brewster.

Legion members from both countries (augmented by some deputies from the Okanogan County Sheriff's Office) brought the colors down Main Street and presented them in front of the all-services memorial. Dave Sinclair, commander of the British Columbia/Yukon Command and Ken Koplin, Ninth District Commander for the American Legion, laid a wreath at the memorial's base. Sinclair gave a speech praising the way the gavel passing promotes international friendship and talking about some of the challenges facing the organizations in both countries.

About five years ago vandals damaged the Legion's memorial, stealing a plaque recognizing the sacrifices of men and women who died in service to their country. Brewster Legion members replaced the plaque this summer, and it was dedicated Sunday morning.

The memorial reads:

Our roll call is many blends of color, race and creed

But our belief in duty, honor and in country is a common denominator.

Legion member Denny Pittman thanked the people who helped the Brewster Legion with the project.

Gavel passing activities actually began on Friday afternoon; participants could go play golf on Friday and Saturday and look around town. There were activities at the Legion as well, including dinners Friday and Saturday, some fun games (rumor has it there were some killer-diller Elvis performances in the "King and Queen" contest) and the remembrance ceremony and meetings on Sunday.

"Everybody praised the food the food, and they always praise the view," said Monte Butler, who's a post member and one of the organizers. The only suggestion from the guests was to turn down the heat, Butler said. (The remembrance ceremony was at 10 a.m.; it was already about 90 degrees.)

About 108 people from the two countries attended - which was a pretty good crowd but not quite as big as organizers hoped, Butler said. The gavel passing dates back more than half a century, when veterans from the two countries got together to remember their comrades and have a little fun; one year it's held in the U.S., the next in Canada. Next year it's scheduled for Chase, British Columbia.

Participation has been declining slowly, both in the Legion and in the gavel passing, Butler said. There are fewer veterans in an all-volunteer force, of course, but Butler said some younger veterans might not know what the Legion does.

"We do a lot of behind the scenes stuff," he said, including scholarships for high school seniors and Girls and Boys State, a citizenship program based around a yearly mock legislative session. A lot of the Legion's volunteer activities are targeted toward veterans - local Legion volunteers have built more than one wheelchair ramp, and they have a program that provides veterans with transportation to medical appointments when they can't make other arrangements.

People who want more information about Legion programs or membership can contact post commander Glenn Farrington or any Legion member at the post in Brewster.