Heather Wright/The Independent

Members of the Alvinston Legion are making themselves comfortable in their new home.

Members and their friends spent hours Dec. 27 moving tables and chairs, items from the kitchen and a few surprises from the old branch on River Street to their new home on Nauvoo Road.

The branch started raising money for a new building on the site of the former Columbia Hotel several years ago and had socked away $600,000 according to the Legion’s Terry MacDonald. The branch was under no illusions; they expected it would take years to raise $2 million to build a new branch.

But then, Legion member Ken Alderman and his wife, Barb, made a suggestion, the tenants of their restaurant, Riverstone, had left the building and they were hoping to sell. The Aldermans offered it to the Legion at a lower-than-market-value price. And the branch members happily accepted.

It would take two years to work out all the planning details, but things finally came together in September. MacDonald says for the past few months some minor renovations were being made.

A wall that separated the restaurant from the bar was taken out to create one big room. MacDonald says at the old building there were two rooms and during big events, like the Awards and Honours banquet, people were separated. The Legion also took out the take out counter and vestibule.

In the basement, the Legion has created a couple of rooms for storage and an office.

One thing they have not changed, MacDonald says is the restaurant-quality kitchen – a bonus for the group.

“The one at the other place…the kitchen and the bar were all in one; I mean my kitchen at home is bigger than that was. So when we were open, you really couldn’t do meals. Now we can do a whole lot. We have these pizza ovens; everything has been left for us.”

As members of the Legion organized for the move they did make some interesting finds including a massive, weighty plaque – the John Labatt Award for the Alvinston Euchre Club. It only has two winners from the 1950s.

The find is fitting; the first event at the Legion’s new home is a euchre tournament Saturday.