MOOSE JAW — Mayor Clive Tolley was somewhat emotional receiving the first poppy of this year’s poppy campaign as he reflected on the fact that several relatives served in — and survived — both world wars.
Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 held a small ceremony on Oct. 25 to kick off the poppy initiative, with campaign chairwoman Sue Knox pinning the red flower on the left lapel of Tolley’s three-piece suit.
This act signifies that everyone may now start wearing the remembrance-focused poppy that originated on the Belgian battlefields of the First World War and was inspired by Lt.-Col. John McCrae’s epic poem, “In Flanders Fields.”
“It’s a privilege and an honour to be asked by the Legion to receive the poppy … . Each year, it has significance for me (because) my dad was a Second World War veteran and a 50-year member of the Legion,” Tolley said.
“So when I get around the Legion, I get around the veterans, and when the poppy campaign starts, I think of (my dad and) I get a little emotional,” he continued, his voice wavering.
Tolley’s grandfathers served in the First World War, while his father and uncles served in the Second. While all came home, one grandfather suffered from poor health after being gassed in the trenches and died young from lung cancer.
“So it’s a time for families to think about the people who served and gave the ultimate sacrifice and the ones who came home,” he added. “And it’s just an opportunity for us as Canadians to show our appreciation and wear our poppy proudly from now until Nov. 11.”
Issuing the campaign’s first poppy signals to the community that the remembrance period has begun and that Legion members will begin canvassing the city offering poppies in exchange for donations, said Knox.
Presenting the poppy to the mayor shows that the organization is serious about the initiative and that it is of great importance to veterans that local leadership receives it first, especially since the Governor General and lieutenant-governor have already received theirs, she continued.
“It’s not something that we did a lot in the past. I think the one we did last year was probably the first in a number of years … ,” Knox said. “It’s something a lot of the other cities do as well, so I wanted to bring that to Moose Jaw as well and get that camaraderie and community going … .”
Following in the footsteps of Dominion command, Branch No. 59 wants to do a better job of informing the community of how it uses the poppy campaign funds, she noted. While it won’t divulge which veterans receive support, it wants to discuss the programs it’s promoting.
“They’re public funds, so the public certainly has a right to know where that money is going to … ,” Knox added. “I’m trying to bring that back and get that community camaraderie again and keeping it focal to the public.”
The Legion will be at the Moose Jaw Warriors’ game on Friday, Nov. 8, handing out poppies to fans and collecting donations.
Meanwhile, it will need volunteer help on Sunday, Nov. 10, from 10 p.m. to midnight to cover the rink with sheets in preparation for the Remembrance Day ceremony the next day. It will also require volunteers to tear down the rink after the ceremony, with that work beginning around noon.
Anyone interested in helping can contact ceremony chairwoman Christine Simpson at 306-681-3835.
