Lethbridge Army Navy and Air Force Veterans branch marking 100th anniversary

By Dale Woodard on September 11, 2021.

Herald photo by Dale Woodard - Adele Mathews, president of the Army Navy and Air Force Veterans Branch 34 stands next to a table full of memorabilia which will be on display at today's 100th anniversary celebration. The doors open at noon.

It has been delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the Army Navy and Air Force Veterans Branch 34 will be throwing a special anniversary party today.
The branch located at 517 5 Avenue South will celebrate a century of existence with its 100th anniversary open house and BBQ from noon until roughly 6 p.m.
The anniversary program starts at 2 p.m. There is no admission and everybody is welcome to come celebrate the milestone.
“This is our 100th anniversary of the Army, Navy, Airforce Unit 34,” said Adele Mathews President of the Army Navy and Air Force Veterans Branch 34. “We should have had it last year, but due to COVID we’re doing it this year. It’s very important to us to let people know we’re still going and trying to support the veterans.”
The charter was issued to the Lethbridge branch on May 14, 1920. A large variety of memorabilia will be on display including a flag from the Boer War.
“We’re having a lot of memorial stuff out and the hall is open,” said Mathews. “We’re having a BBQ and we’ve got some music going on. We’ve got people who if their parents did come into this club we’d like them to come down and maybe give us a story of how their parents enjoyed the club.”
The branch moved into the downtown building in 1928 and the renovations started in 1937. The hall portion was built during the 1960s.
“We have a hall rental, we have crib on Wednesday nights and we have shuffle board on Friday nights,” said Mathews.
However, the pandemic did more than merely delay the 100th anniversary celebration by one year.
“It totally affected us,” said Mathews. “We had that shutdown and it was kind of hard to pay the bills. We went to the government for all of the grants we could get. We managed to stay alive and right now it’s all volunteer work in here. There are no paid employees at all and that helped us a lot, too.”
Free coffee and cake will also be available for those attending.
“They can walk around the club and see what’s going on. Hopefully they’ll come in and try our crib or shuffleboard,” said Mathews. “Everybody is welcome, free of charge and if they want to join they can.”

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