Artwork of remembrance donated to Chesterville’s Royal Canadian Legion
Steve Grubb, president of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 434 in Chesterville, is shown holding the recently donated wood carving to the branch. He commented how this work of art will be in the members’ room in a prominent location. Thompson Goddard Photo

CHESTERVILLE—On Jan. 17, the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL) Branch 434 in Chesterville received the donation of a wood carving from Branch Sgt-at-Arms Melony Malo. The carving depicts two soldiers on a hill which has poppies and white wooden crosses atop it and was created by Jason Vaughan of JV Woodworking in Ottawa. He explained that creating the carvings for organizations and individuals, allows him to express his creativity and, in this case, support a community organization such as the Chesterville Legion. 

Vaughn, a retired member of the Canadian Armed Forces with service in Afghanistan, described how the piece provides a visual representation of the link between the soldiers of today, to the members of our Armed Forces in earlier generations. He commented how the silhouettes, a male and female in current military uniforms, represent how gender no longer plays a role in their service, with the crosses, poppies and barbed wire on the frame providing an indelible link to the warriors of the past.

When asked, the artist provided an explanation of the steps taken from the conceptualization to the completion of this work of art. He mentioned how the piece was made from maple wood and created using a Computer Numeric Carver of CNC. He described how Malo provided him with the concept for the carving, with him creating a sketch which was then inputted into the computer program. After a computerized 3-D file is created and imported into a program such as VCarve, the router receives the computer commands and carves the wood, which in this case took approximately 60 hours. Vaughn mentioned there are several hours of work for the woodworker creating the artwork, preparing the wood and then after carving putting the finishing touches such as painting, staining, and sealing on the piece. Steve Grubb, president of RCL Branch 434, commented that the carving will be in a prominent location in the members’ room “opposite the main entrance into the room.”  

When asked about upcoming events at the Legion in Chesterville, Grubb mentioned at the present time there were none planned as “We are waiting to move into yellow, or hopefully green before we are likely to start having events again. We are available for meetings and small gatherings.” The members’ lounge is “open for service” between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. (1500-1900 hrs) Wednesday to Saturday. He continued the members’ lounge has been temporarily relocated into the main hall of the Legion to ensure social distancing during the Orange-Restrict Zone. Wing Nights will be continued on the first and third Friday of each month, with the next Wing Night on Fri., March 5.

More information on the JV Woodworking can be found on their website located at www.jvwoodworking.com or on their Facebook page. To keep up to date with events and news from RCL Branch 434 in Chesterville, be sure to visit their Facebook page.