History -
There have been cadets in
Hay River
since the early 1950's. Although there are no records of
this operation the story is that "Westy" Westmoreland and the Royal
Canadian Signals detachment operated a Cadet Corps for boys. How long this
lasted is not known.
On
1 Jan 1963
Bud Weiss and John Scott were authorized to form an Army
Cadet Corps. The corps was
sponsored by the
Federal
Day School
and affiliated with the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. Parades
were held in the school gym which was also set up as a rifle range. In 1966
Peter Osted took over but was forced by lack of support to close the corps down
in 1968.
In the spring of 1971 Ray Young was given approval to reestablish the
corps. The revived corps, now affiliated with Northern Region Headquarters,
paraded in the
Federal
School
for a year until 1972 when it moved to the new
Diamond
Jenness
School
. The corps grew steadily under Captain Young and his
officers Lts. W Kudelik, R Johns, P Osted, and H Engbers. The Hay River Legion
was the sponsor of this "new" cadet corps and when the new Legion
building was finished in 1974 the corps moved into new quarters with office and
stores space upstairs and training conducted in the dance/bingo hall. Branch 250
Royal Canadian Legion,
Hay River
and the Ladies Auxiliary of Branch 250 have been generous
and supportive sponsors of the Corps by providing accommodations, financial and
material support.
Over fifty adults
have been enrolled as instructors with the corps over the years.
Over the last
twenty-five years more than 500 young people of
Hay River
have been members of the corps (over 170 still live in
Hay River
). Although the enrolment of girls was not authorized until
around 1975 female cadets have always been part of the corps and many girls have
done very well.
Presently the corps
has thirty-five cadets enrolled along with four officers and two civilian
instructors. The corps trains every Monday and Wednesday night with outdoor
exercises held whenever possible. Involvement with the community has always been
a prime goal of the corps and the cadets are seen, sometimes in uniform and
sometimes not, at many functions in town.
The corps has been
judged to be the best cadet corps in Northern Region (Northwest Territories
and Yukon) on at least five occasions and has placed high in both
shooting and drill competitions. In recent years we have had cadets train in
Germany,
Wales,
England, Vernon (BC), Ottawa, Petawawa
(Ontario), Victoria (BC), Borden (Ontario), Rankin Inlet,
Whitehorse,
Yellowknife,
Fort Smith,
Fort
Simpson, and at Canadian Forces Bases Edmonton, Wainwright, Calgary
Penhold and Suffield, as well as in many places around
Hay River
.
