Paul Harris Fellowship

We join together tonight to recognize and honour Len van Roon Sr.

 

Len was born in East Kildonan 98 years ago and moved to Charleswood as a young boy when his father found the perfect land to establish the family farm.

 

As a boy, Len used to snare rabbits along a path through the bush on their property where no trees grew, and that became his boyhood trapline.  In the 1970’s Len discovered that this old trail through the property was the main Pembina Trail south from the passage at Berkeley Street, where tens of thousands of carts headed every year down to Pembina, North Dakota to follow the buffalo and the huge fall and spring hunts.  Many years later when Fort Garry School Division and Assiniboine South School Division merged, Len and his wife Verna suggested the name Pembina Trails School Division be adopted to recognize the old historic trail through Charleswood as well as the more “modern” Pembina Trail that much later became the route of the present Pembina Highway!

 

Len lost his dad, a streetcar driver as well as a market gardener, to cancer while still a young boy. However his resourceful mother raised Len and chickens and vegetables as a single parent and he had an interesting childhood in a very rural Charleswood from the 1920’s on, riding a bicycle or walking to the large 4 room old red school (built in 1919) or riding in the Fraser’s horse drawn wagon when it was cold or muddy, or sometimes even skiing behind the wagon.  Charleswood Road only had a few neighbours on the entire street! 

 

In 1941, Len was conscripted to go to war, and he was the last person who should have gone to war, leaving his mother to run a farm alone as a widow with an only child.  He made the case that he should not go, but was not successful, and he became determined to do the best job that he could during WW2 if he had to be there. 

 

At that time Len was already dating a lovely young lady, Verna, whom he had met at the tiny one room Charleswood United Church on Roblin Blvd. and Harstone.  He was afraid that he might not come back from the war, so they didn’t marry but he kept in close contact with Verna, as he wrote over 1100 letters home to friends and family - and mostly to Verna.  He wrote nearly a letter a day while he was away under very trying wartime circumstances. He still has close to 1000 of these letters that have been kept right until today, and they have all been digitized and transcribed and remain preserved for posterity in 2 large binders kept proudly in his living room!

 

 Len served in the 19th Field Regiment, of the Canadian army, as an operation post assistant, and he spent much of the war close to or behind enemy lines in a unit of just 6 men who had their own Sherman tank -  just like the one in front of the Charleswood Legion today.  They watched the artillery shells land and radioed back corrections to the firing. It was a very hazardous job that few soldiers survived.  Len was the second lowest rank available, but he says he was the fastest and best trench digger and that kept him alive when he wasn’t protected in their tank! 

 

He was in the first force to land at Juno Beach, and the Canadians in his unit travelled the farthest inland of any fighting forces, close to 18 miles away from the coast and right next to a large division of German Panzer tanks. His job, carrying a bulky radio on his back, was to redirect the allies’ firing from large guns offshore at the enemy forces on the beach, to provide some protection for the forces that were landing.  This was an extremely dangerous position and a heavy responsibility for a young man in his early twenties.

 

Subsequently, he joined in the liberation of the Netherlands.  Len tells school children that he walked from those beaches across France and Belgium and Holland and eventually into Germany, (although he says he rode in their tank much of the way and didn’t just walk!)  He still has the same army boots that landed on Juno Beach and takes them into schools to show the students, although he never does remember them getting wet when he jumped into the water from their landing craft while under heavy machine gun fire.

 

After victory in Europe Len returned home and married Verna and they began their new life together in Charleswood, raising a family of 4 children. They became involved in the community. This set the pattern they would follow for the rest of their lives.

 

It was a great partnership. Len Jr shared a family story about their early years together. Returned soldiers received a bonus of $500. Len and Verna decided to build a new chicken coop with the money. At the time Verna was 8 months pregnant and took to shingling the roof. A neighbour came by and saw her. He took Len aside and said you better get her off the roof. So, Len thought about it and went in and called the doctor who asked, “does she like shingling?” Len replied yes, so the doctor said, “Well let her be” - fortunately she did not fall off the roof and finished the job!

 

As the years passed, this stalwart couple saw their children grow, their farm develop from a chicken farm into a chicken farm and tree nursery and they found time to direct their energies into the needs of the community. They supported each other in whatever activities and jobs each took on.

 

Verna chaired the Charleswood Winnipeg Centennial Committee and her committee spent countless hours working to establish the Assiniboine Forest. An amazing project that no one thought was possible, although everyone thought was a great idea.

 

Some of the land was held by landowners in Canada and speculators from outside the country, so all had to be contacted to arrange land transfers. We see the results every time we drive past Assiniboine forest. It is such an honour for this Rotary club to be involved as custodians and protectors of this valuable piece of nature.

 

This wonderful project was joined by other legacy projects - starting the Wellington Crescent bike path, saving and restoring Caron house, which is the oldest farmhouse remaining on the West Assiniboine River.

 

For over 10 years Len and Verna worked to assemble the names of 20 men from Charleswood and Headingly who gave their lives in World Wars 1 and 2 and to build the memorial at Berkeley and Roblin Boulevard. 2 of the men during WW1 and 18 during WW2, some as young as 17. Len has pictures of all the men except 1.

 

7 street names in Ridgewood West are named after these men and the plan is to honour all 20 with street and park names in the development as an ongoing legacy of remembrance.

 

And then there is the Charleswood Historical Society which led to the establishment of the Charleswood museum. Verna and Len were among the folks who recognized that a great society respects and remembers its past. This organization shares the interesting history with school children and holds regular talks which are open to the rest of us and also runs the museum.

 

The aforementioned chicken coop had long been the storehouse of valuable artifacts with historical value needing to be appreciated by others and they found a home in the new museum on Roblin Boulevard. A secret - the coop is filling up again with objects of historical interest.

 

Len and Verna were involved in church activities, speaking to school classes, leadership of Brownies, Guides and Scouts. Always they kept busy serving the community and helping others.

 

When the Eric Coy arena was built, Len worked for the city at the rink. After retirement he found an outlet for his creativity - art classes, and the result is more than 400 paintings. A later interesting development has been the creation of “gufflewarfs” on his property. The meaning of the name can best be described by Len.

 

These days Len can be seen riding around Charleswood on his scooter.

 

President Doug then took the dais to say:

Len, in recognition of your service to our country, and the betterment of this community the Winnipeg Charleswood Rotary club is honoured to present you with Rotary’s Paul Harris Fellowship for practicing Rotary’s motto: Service Above Self.

And we thank you and we remember Verna for all that both of you have done to contribute to a better society.