Those soldiers returning after the Great War had lived a life that would be unimaginable, and unrelatable for anyone who had not experienced it firsthand. The fraternity of veterans returning from the Great War had no centralized organization to look after its members until the Royal Canadian Legion was formed in 1925 that consolidated the different organizations. Under a more central structure, the Legion could help its members more effectively. For Mission’s veterans, the new Legion hall provided a stable place where they could share stories and experiences with fellow soldiers who could understand better than anyone else. The hall provided a place for those injured mentally or physically to be a part of the community in a space they were a part of. The hall provided one of the select places for those veterans to be able to enjoy a beer in old company in Mission.
On January 20, 1927, forty of the Mission men who had returned from the Great War became the founding members of the newly-formed Branch 57 of the Royal Canadian Legion, originally meeting in the local rink. The construction of the Legion Hall was quite the undertaking as it sought to create a permanent home for the Legionaires who had dubbed themselves the “Wandering Boys” to that point. In 1931, an old boarding house located west of the main street strip, referred to sometimes as either the Albion or Acme house, was moved from its foundation to be moved to the present location. The building before its move was a three-story house that was located in the middle of is now Lougheed highway – though the highway did not exist yet. Despite not having highway transport capabilities, or even a highway, the building was moved for the cost of about $450. The major construction project the legion undertook during the Great Depression was the building of the auditorium that would be added on to the building during 1936. The Albion house and auditoruim addition is currently occupied at the end on First avenue by East Side Church and You Care We Care Day Care.
The project from its inception was concerned with the wellbeing of Mission. A July 5 1934, article from the Fraser Valley Record talks about the preliminary plans to bring in an engineer to start the construction of the auditorium that would help situate Mission as the “Hub of the Fraser Valley.” The same article went on to mention how the members of the community were invited to come pick up unemployment forms to receive benefits if needed. This highlights how Mission was looking after its unemploed in the midst of the Great Depression, with an eye to the future in the building projects it was choosing to pursue.
The auditorium cost roughly $18,000 and was set to open for Labour Day in 1936. It featured a large crowd and within the week the auditorium became a recreational hub for the Fraser Valley. The auditorium would go on to host socials, dances, and even roller nights that brought the community together for joyous times while supporting the local Legion. Described later in 1948, the Mission Legion said it sought to, “Give the young people of Mission a place to spend their evenings.” The Legion building would go on to be the sight of more large building projects in the future. In fact, in 1948 it would become the first four story building in Mission with a $100,000 addition.
