The young Salvation Army officer lay in the dentist chair. It was the late
1930s.

He had been preaching the word of God in Sapperton, B.C. His was a fiery message to save souls.

As the story goes, the crowd got unruly, someone threw a rock, or a drunk punched him in the face, chipping his tooth. And now the officer was in the hands of the local dentist.

He couldn't have known it then, but that chipped tooth would cause more good than he could have ever believed.You see, his dentist suggested that the officer visit local businessman and entrepreneur Samuel Buchanan. That visit led to many visits to Buchanan's wife who was, in Buchanan's words, "incurably ill."

So impressed was Buchanan with the way the Salvation Army watched over his wife, giving her spiritual comfort, that when Sadie (Sarah) Shaloe Buchanan died in 1939, Buchanan vowed to donate his Sapperton home and his lands to the Salvation Army "for a home for aged ladies."

"At the time, the Salvation Army had 20 homes in Canada and he wanted this one to be the best," said Frank Pierpoint-Allen, director of environmental services at Buchanan Lodge.

Five years later, when Buchanan moved out of his home, he donated $15,000 to the Salvation Army towards the $40,000 renovation costs to enlarge his home for a care centre.

"That would have been a lot of money in 1944," said Pierpoint-Allen.
With the renovations complete, the Salvation Army opened the care centre in 1946 as the Sadie Shaloe Buchanan Memorial Home for Deserving Aged Ladies.

That was 60 years ago, and now Buchanan Lodge (the name was
shortened in 1997) celebrates its 60th anniversary. The lodge is located in
Sapperton on Blair Avenue near the corner of Richmond Street and East Eighth Avenue.

Close to 200 people came to the recent celebration which included a buffet lunch, speeches, children's activities and a band playing old time favourites.

The original Buchanan home is gone. It served its residents well until they
finally outgrew it, said Pierpoint-Allen. In 1993, the residents were moved
to Royal City Manor where they lived for four years while a new, much larger facility was built. It opened in 1997.

Buchanan Lodge executive director Derland Orsted said although the new
building caused controversy in the neighbourhood when it was first
announced, he said it is now a bonus for the area.

"It's turned out that we have added to the neighbourhood. And I think it has added to the value of homes."

Buchanan Lodge has 112 residents, both men and women, ranging in age from their late 50s to their 90s. One resident is 101, another is 106. The
facility offers extended and complex care.

Printed with permission from The Royal City Record

by Lori Pappajohn