WESTLOCK - Outdoor Remembrance Day services will be held in Westlock, Clyde and Jarvie tomorrow, albeit smaller and more concise compared to past years.
Due to COVID-19, the Westlock Legion won’t host its normal Nov. 11 ceremony at the Westlock & District Community Hall and will instead hold a smaller service in front of the community cenotaph located near the Heritage Building on the corner of 100th Ave. and 100th Street. In addition to the in-person event, a livestream of the ceremony will be available for viewing at https://youtu.be/EhkaFImAVCw.
Legion president Paul Taverner and branch chaplain Marjorie Steele said they were compelled to be able to offer some kind of public tribute to veterans as many Remembrance Day events have either been outright cancelled, or severely scaled back.
“We’re really proud that we’re doing a service,” Taverner stated.
The event begins at 10:45 a.m. as Taverner will welcome attendees leading up to 11 a.m. — both say the entire service will last 15 minutes at most as all the wreaths will be pre-placed.
“There’ll be no marching, or laying of wreaths. If people want to do wreaths they can pre-purchase them and then place them after the service, or we can do that before,” he noted.
Providing music will be bugler Alex Shabert and Russ Nelson on the bagpipes — a second piper may also join in — and there’s a possibility of flag bearers. Social distancing protocols will be in place meaning people need to spread out during the event.
“It’ll be a very short program as we don’t know how cold it will be … I’m born and raised in Saskatchewan so I’m used to the cold,” said Steele, who’ll be doing the prayers at the service.
“We’re hoping people will feel free to come out to the ceremony.”
“At the community hall we’d normally get 700 people so that just wasn’t going to happen. Everyone is being super cautious,” added Taverner, whose father served in the military. “We knew we’d do something, but we’re trying to do something with as few people as we can … who knows how many people we’re going to get this year, it’s really a shot in the dark.”
Steele really encourages folks concerned about the crowd, or even the cold, to take in the livestream.
“I’m a vet (reserves) myself and so is my twin brother (Dave) and there are lots of people who will not be able to come out. So if they have a computer they’ll be able to join in … even I can do that,” she said.
The notion of an outdoor service isn’t new, as for years Westlock’s service was held at the cenotaph and ended with a march back to the branch.
“In Fort Saskatchewan the cenotaph is in front of the Legion and so everyone gathers out front first and then they move inside,” Steele noted.
Both have deep connections to Remembrance Day — Steele still remembers watching her father march in a parade in Moose Jaw following the conclusion of the Second World War, while Taverner said he lost a number of uncles in the war. The community still has a handful of Second World War veterans, Frank Petryshyn, Norm Colquhoun, Tom McConaghy and Bob Horricks — McConaghy and Horricks are both 93 years old.
“Our dad was in the army, the home guard it was called because he couldn’t serve in the regular military. I remember when the war ended I was just a little teeny kid and my daddy was walking down main street Moose Jaw in the parade … I was so proud. I can hear myself yelling, ‘There’s my daddy!’
“People just need to remember not only what the regular military does for us, but to remember the people who served in the reserves as well.”
Clyde & Jarvie ceremonies
In the Village of Clyde, Isaac Brower-Berkhoven, a Navy veteran who served for 26 years on ships and submarines off the coast of British Columbia, is again spearheading the event.
As in the case of Westlock, the service will be concise — Brower-Berkhoven isn’t encouraging people to attend, but won’t stop anyone from coming to pay their respects.
“It’ll be very subdued and low key. I’ll march out to the cenotaph, we’ll lower the flag at the appropriate time, then bring it up again for Reveille and then go home. So there’ll be no formalized service as we’ve done for the last 12 years,” said Brower-Berkhoven.
“I’ll pay my respects and I’ve told the committee here I will never ever stop attending Remembrance Day. If people show up we’ll be happy to receive, but there’s nothing formal planned.”
A similar scene will play out in Jarvie as the cenotaph will be the site for the community’s Remembrance Day ceremony.
The short service will start around 10:45 a.m. leading up to two minutes of silence in advance of 11 a.m.
Schools take part
Virtual ceremonies were held at local schools today, Nov. 10 — Busby School did a ceremony via Google Meet, while at Eleanor School in Clyde, a video was created and shared with the student body.
R.F. Staples School streamed a ceremony, similar to what was done for grad, while classes at Westlock Elementary School each did their own — at 11 a.m. a moment of silence was observed by all students and staff before the singing of O Canada.
Meanwhile, Pembina North Community School held an outdoor service Tuesday morning where O Canada was sung, followed by the recitation of In Flanders Fields and then the playing of Last Post by Chris Rottier.
George Blais, TownandCountryToday.com
