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One idea Gloria had was to re-enact the arrival of people who came to live in Saskatchewan and passed through the train station. Mr. Kilkenny really was interested and so Gloria wrote to the President of the Railways and he said it was a great idea. The only thing was that the station would need to be cleaned and the walls washed etc., and it would cost close to two hundred dollars per hour to hire the staff to clean it up.
Gloria talked to the Hotel Manager and he said the work in the Cloakroom might be a good way to raise the money to pay for the clean-up, so Gloria phoned the Secretary, Kay Garside, and asked if she could round up a few ladies to work in that position. Kay's answer was that she "sure could!". Gloria even worked the Cloakroom for a few nights , but her husband was in the hospital so the other ladies continued on working there to raise money for the re-enactment at the train station.
Just when it looked like it might be possible to get all the funds together to clean the station, Gloria received a letter stating that the Railway station was going to be used for storage and the re-enactment could not take place. Needless to say, the women were very disappointed, especially when a few years later the station was turned into a casino!
By this time, War Brides were attending their meetings in great numbers and one Alberta War Bride mentioned that there was a gethering down east in Montreal and shouldn't the ladies from Western Canada attend?
Gloria was determined to go, even if she personally could not afford it so she and John put their trailer up for sale and took the proceeds from its sale to attend the Montreal get-together. Gloria seized the opportunity to speak about organizing an Association in Montreal for themselves, just as the Saskatchewan group had done. Her rationale was that each year the Saskatchewan group was gaining new members from down East. Why not form their own?
As time went on, it seemed whenever War Brides got together in provinces across the coutnry they would contact Gloria and she would help them to get their own organizations off the ground, advising them what to do, how to get incorporated etc. The first were a couple from Alberta by the name of Mrs. Muriel Anst and her husband. Mrs. Anst said "Gloria, I'm sure we could get one going if you would work with us.", and Gloria did just that.
Mrs. Anst went back to Alberta and spoke to a lady by the name of Pat Douglas and together they started to seek out War Brides in their province. Gloria worked through the mail to help them get started and on the basis of this successful model Gloria repeated the process in nearly every province across Canada. As the years passed and new groups were formed, Gloria attended their opening meetings and helped to install their officers and Executive members.
When Gloria stepped down from the Saskatchewan War Brides Association she was given a gold Association badge with diamonds and rubies in the form of the maple leaf and other beautiful presents which she will always treasure. The highlights of Gloria's work with the Canadian War Brides Associations are many: she has been invited to attend anniversary concerts, mayor's dinners, Premier's banquets and she has even met the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. But one of the most important events she can recall is when she was made an honourary citizen of Calgary for her work with the Alberta War Brides Association.
Throughout the passage of years, Gloria has tried to keep an attitude that if you can talk it out, you can work it out. Her philosophy is that all members of the War Brides Associations are equally important, and she has done her best to represent these ladies as hard working people whose hearts will always be with each other. More than twenty five years after the first meeting of the Saskatchewan War Brides Association, Gloria is proud to say that the dream she had of a Canada-wide organization has become a reality which continues to play a big part in the War Brides' lives today.
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