Tuesday, December 19, 2023, was a great day when members of the Toronto Legion Post 86 visited 105 veterans in local nursing homes. Charlie Eshbaugh has organized the annual event every year since 2002, except when COVID shut down the nursing homes.
This isn’t just a one-day event for Charlie. He spends the rest of the year gathering gifts for the veterans, including military magazines, hats from Rogers Flea Market, crocheted lap blankets, walker bags and toboggins made by Toronto Church Ladies, hand-made Christmas cards from Toronto school kids, sugar-free sugar cookies, potato chips and other treats from local stores, and donations from local businesses.
The day before the visit, Charlie has everything organized in the Legion Hall, a bag for every veteran on a table designated for each nursing home we will visit. He makes sure all his helpers put one of everything he has gathered in each bag. Charlie organizes three teams, contacts all the nursing home activity directors, and gets the number of veterans in each of their nursing homes and sets up the time that each will be visited.
It's a great opportunity to be able to see veterans that don’t get many visitors and being able to watch their eyes light up as they put on their new hats while the activity director asked them if she can take their picture.
Charlie always asked the veterans what unit they were in and what officer did they hate the most? One veteran Charlie has been visiting for a several years told him, “I was in the Army, and they all hated me. I was an MP.” (Military Police)
Last year, Sergeant Turkaly said, “This is the fifth time you visited me, and I still have most of my hats, but I have given a few to my friends.” This year was no different and Sgt. Turkaly gave us one of his drawings, and on the back, it said, “Drawn by Sgt. Robert C. Turkaly, Bless You All.”
Charlie is a blessing, not only to those veterans, but also to all of us who are able to help him. Thank you, Charlie, for a wonderful day!
- Chuck White, Toronto American Legion Post 86 Adjutant
