Henry “Harry” Taylor is a popular member of Branch 19 of the Royal Canadian Legion in North Sydney.
“I try to help out wherever I can,” says Harry. “It's just for the vets, to see the smiles on their faces when we do stuff. We had a dinner here last week, and the vets came up from the hospital. They enjoyed it, and there were big smiles on their faces and everything, so that's rewarding right there.”
Harry has been a member of the branch for nearly 30 years and says one of his favourite jobs is making sure the legion's most senior member, Bill McKeigan, gets to as many branch activities as possible. At 99-years-old, Bill relies on Harry to drive him to meetings.
“You couldn't get any better, very nice guy,” says Bill. “If I wanted a dime, he'd give me it.”
“He's actually our lifeline right now,” says Bill’s wife Irma. “Anything we're going to, he takes Bill to it. He'll help us, I can always call on him.”
Two months ago, Harry received the highest honour the legion hands out – the Meritorious Service Medal.
When he’s not helping out with the local legion, Harry is volunteering with his community’s fire department as a 27 year veteran.
“Everything we need an organizer for, Harry does,” says Chief Lloyd MacIntosh. “He looks after our Canada Day activities, he looks after our participation in Remembrance Day, he looks after our banquets.”
Harry also volunteers at his church and with his community's historical society.
“There's no corner of this town Harry hasn't touched,” says Janice Harris, of the Historical Society of North Sydney. “As far as his generosity, his kindness, his time belongs to everyone else.”
Harry spent 35 years working for Marine Atlantic. In his retirement, he says he couldn't continue doing as much without having his wife Elaine right there by his side.
“Everything I do, she's always with me,” says Harry. “If we're doing a project for here, or fire hall cooking, we both do it. So anything we do, we do together.”
Congratulations to Harry Taylor, our Maritimer of the Week!
If you know someone deserving of our Maritimer of the Week award, we want to hear about it.
It doesn’t matter how old they are, the nature of the good deed they’ve done, or what part of the region they live in — we want your ideas!
Please send your nomination to:
maritimer@ctv.ca
or
Maritimer of the Week
P.O. Box 1653
Halifax, N.S.
B3J 2Z4
