Poppies and posters

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

As Canadian war planes fly through the skies in Iraq and 600 Canadian air force personnel work with coalition forces in Operation Impact, Canadians will take their eyes from the sky to their lapels. They will place a poppy in remembrance of past sacrifices made by veterans in the Great Wars, and the many Canadian veterans killed or injured in peacekeeping action around the world.
Don Good, legion coordinator for the poppy campaign, said the displays are up but poppies didn’t go on sale until Oct. 31, with the exception of poppies released so that visitors to the war memorial in Ottawa could place pins on the memorial, to honour the recently deceased Corporal Nathan Cirillo.
French citizen Madame Guerin made the first hand-made poppies in 1920 and sold them to support destitute children in war-torn areas. The Great War Veterans’ Association (the predecessor of The Royal Canadian Legion) officially adopted the poppy as its Flower of Remembrance in July 1921. Their first hand-made blooms were sold in November 1921, with proceeds benefiting wounded veterans. The money still goes to support for veterans and local charities 93 years later.
Strathmore’s goal is to raise funds for a specialized acute care mattress that costs $8300. Last year the Royal Canadian Air Cadets in Strathmore received $4800 and a rehabilitation machine costing $11,000 was purchased for the hospital. As of 2013, Strathmore Legion #10 raised $47,919 64, which is a far cry from the $4000 generated in 1996 when Good started with the program.
Pins can be purchased at businesses around town or at the Legion itself. While many people keep their poppy and wear it year-to-year, there are rules where and how the poppy should be worn and used. See www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/get-involved/poppy
Good hopes those who save their poppies will still donate every year to continue the good work.
The legion also sells commemorative wreaths costing between $20-$60. Anyone is allowed to place commemorative wreaths at the monuments or in services.
Good is starting to focus on getting youth involved. Good says many young people are helping distribute the boxes.
A fun project for youth sponsored by the Legion is the poster contest and literary contest.
The poster contest is divided into two divisions, colour and black-and-white and the literary contest is divided into essay and poem divisions. In Strathmore, the awards range between $25 and $35, but as the winners are submitted for successive zones, awards increase all the way up to $1000 at the national level. All the schools in Strathmore will be submitting the first and second winning posters for display at the library on Nov. 18 for public viewing. For more information see www.legion.ca/youth/contests.