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insidetoronto.com
Swansea legion closing its doors
Holiday train rolling into Lambton yard
Dwindling membership forces group to merge with Maple Leaf branch LISA RAINFORD lrainford@insidetoronto.com The Swansea Royal Canadian Legion Branch 46 has been sold. Its members are amalgamating with the Maple Leaf branch, located on Dundas Street West at Watson Avenue, in the new year. The building went on the
market in September and sold at the end of October. The property closes Feb. 18. The decision to sell was arrived at realistically, yet with somewhat of a heavy heart, according to president Joe Madrackin. “I’m a little bit sad, sure,” Madrackin admitted. In recent years, the legion
has experienced a dwindling membership. A small number of volunteers have taken on the majority of the day-to-day operations of the building and they are getting on in years. “No one else wanted to step up,” Madrackin said. “Most months we were losing money, our finances were not that great.”
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In its 15th year, the Canadian Pacific (CP) holiday Train is already on its way, having started its cross-country journey this week from Montreal. The LED-decked-out train rolls into the CP Lambton Yard at 750 Runnymede Rd. at 5:45 >>>BANDS, page 9
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Madrackin joined the local legion 12 years ago after enjoying many a post-game pint there with his Rennie Park co-ed slow pitch team. For eight of those years, he’s been at the helm of the organization. “You put in a lot of work,” he said. “For the first six or seven years, it was good. Then, it just >>>MEMBERS, page 18
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