March 1, 2015
1756
About 50 people gathered at the Kincardine Legion, Saturday afternoon, to offer their best wishes to Legion member and Second World War veteran Em Campbell who is leaving Kincardine next week to be nearer her family in Kingston.
Legion first vice-president Mary Farrell welcomed everyone and said Em is moving on to a new adventure. "We will miss you, Em - such a beautiful person with such a beautiful smile. Thank you for all your hard work with the weekly bingo and the meat draws - thank you for everything, as a veteran and a Legionnaire. Thank you, to a wonderful young lady!"
Em was born in Winnipeg, and has lived in Toronto and Stratford where she joined the Army. She met her husband, Gord Campbell, in the Army when they worked at the same depot.
Following the war, they lived in Aurora, coming to Kincardine often to visit with Gord's parents, and Em wanted to stay here so they got jobs. She worked at the knitting mill for awhile and at Simpson-Sears.
Jack Connell and Gord Campbell bought a grocery store at the corner of Princes Street and Broadway. Jack married Lee and the two couples lived in two apartments above the store. After four years of running the grocery store, the partners decided they weren’t making any money, so they closed it and all four went to work.
Em went to the creamery, then to the dairy. Gord was at Malcolm's as a salesman and they had a son, Greg, after 17 years of marriage (a surprise baby!).
The furniture factories were in trouble and closing so Gord took a job in Ingersoll and they moved from Kincardine in 1968. Gord died when Greg was 12 so Em started working again, in Ingersoll, Woodstock, London, then back to Woodstock at Woodingford Lodge, a nursing home, where she took her nursing degree and received her cap. She worked there until she retired at the age of 65.
Greg was married with three small children and living in Calgary, so Em moved out to be closer and helped with raising the grandchildren. Greg then transferred to Saskatoon and Em took an apartment there, helping with the kids.
Em belonged to the Legion in Woodstock and Saskatoon. She flew home to Kincardine to all the Old Boys Reunions and kept in touch with many of her friends over the years.
She decided she wanted to come back to Kincardine, after being away 42 years, and was still remembered by many. She has lived here more than four years, and now it's time to make one final move closer to her family who live in Kingston.
Em, who turns 89 on March 5, has enjoyed the Legion here and made so many friends, enjoying her work at the bingo and the meat draws.
-- with appreciation to Lee Connell for the background information
Written ByLiz Dadson is the founder and editor of the Kincardine Record and has been in the news business since 1986.
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