History, Wonder Tales, Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends The Flemish | Page 265

Ontario. At its inception the club operated in both French and Flemish, but now official
minutes and correspondence are in English. At present it functions largely as a
benevolent society and is frequented by members of other ethnic groups.
In Ontario the Flemish nationalist movement made itself felt through a number of
cultural organizations. Theatrical companies from Detroit toured centres in the
southwestern part of the province in the 1920s. In that decade as well, an association
known as Den Vriendenkring opened a school in Leamington to teach Flemish, and
the Vlaanderen’s Kerels in Big Point near Chatham started public instruction in
Flemish language and culture. In Wallaceburg the De Goldendag group promoted
various cultural activities, while in Windsor a Flemish choir flourished.
After the outbreak of World War I in 1914, the visit of a special mission to American
and Canadian cities aroused popular indignation against Germany’s violation of
Belgian neutrality and alleged German atrocities and forged strong links between
Belgium and Canada. During the next four years, Belgium’s valiant resistance in the
war saw the organization throughout Canada of the Belgian Relief Fund and support
of the Red Cross in its efforts to provide food for children in the occupied zone.
Following the war the Belgian War Veterans Association and the National Federation
of Former Prisoners of War were established. The Royal Canadian Legion welcomed
the Filiale Albert I. A campaign to raise funds for the restoration of the university in
Louvain met with strong support, especially in Quebec.
The war also stimulated Flemish nationalism, which was reflected in the organization
in Michigan in 1919 of Flandria-America. This association was dedicated to
reawakening ethnocultural awareness and pride, and its activities quickly spread into
Ontario. Adolf Spillemaeckers regularly visited communities in that province to
promote Flemish plays, concerts, public readings, and lectures under the banner of
Flandria-America in the inter-war period.
In the 1930s Louis Empain brought together a number of prominent politicians and
diplomats with the object of forming an association to promote cultural and social ties
between Belgium and Canada. The result was the elitist Association BelgiqueCanada, which sponsored lectures, concerts, exhibitions, formal receptions, and an
annual ball. During World War II the association organized many forms of aid to
Belgian victims of the war and occupation.
Most of the organizations mentioned above have long since collapsed. At present,
there are four major Belgian clubs in Canada. Two were organized near the turn of the
century in Montreal and Saint-Boniface; the other two were established after World
War II in Delhi and Sabrevois. In 1948 the tobacco-belt Belgians felt the need for a
clubhouse in Delhi for their social, recreational, and cultural activities. The club
became the focal point for the traditional bicycle races, pigeon races, and Belgian
bowling and pole-archery tournaments. In 1962 the Belgian dairymen of the Richelieu
valley built the Club Belgo-canadien in Sabrevois. Unlike the other Belgian clubs, its
activities are more social than cultural or benevolent, and it has become a meeting
place for more than Belgians.
A unique association, Belgians in the World, made its appearance in Ontario in 1962.
Its true ethnic and nationalist mission was revealed soon afterwards when it was
renamed Vlamingen in de Wereld (Flemings in the World), and in 1965 a congress of

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