The Remembrance Day ceremony at the Sturgeon Falls cenotaph on Tuesday, November 11. 
The Remembrance Day ceremony at the Sturgeon Falls cenotaph on Tuesday, November 11. 
(L-R) Poppy Chair Tim Trottier, West Nipissing mayor Kathleen Thorne Rochone, and Legion Branch 225 President Karen King pose in front of the first of the Remembrance Day banners which were placed along Front Street in Sturgeon Falls on November 5. 
Andrée Beaudin-Trottier, who helped husband and Legion Poppy Chair Tim Trottier launch the banner initiative in West Nipissing this year, stands below the banner commemorating her father Lionel Beaudin, a veteran of WWII. 
The Remembrance Day ceremony at Ste-Marguerite d’Youville school in Verner on November 11. 
Students at École Ste-Marguerite d’Youville in Verner show the collective mural they created on the theme of Remembrance. 
The Remembrance Day ceremony held at the Cache Bay cenotaph on Saturday, November 8. 
The Remembrance Day ceremony held in the Chevaliers de Colomb Hall in Field on Monday, November 10. 
Volunteer Connie Ratelle-Kloosterman led an initiative to cover the downtown bell tower and bridge with knitted poppies this month. 
Volunteer Connie Ratelle-Kloosterman led an initiative to cover the downtown bell tower and bridge with knitted poppies this month.
Christian Gammon-Roy
Tribune
Remembrance Day ceremonies organised by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 225 in Sturgeon Falls and other areas of the municipality saw good attendance throughout last week, and new initiatives to highlight the occasion have been getting noticed.
The first ceremony in Cache Bay on November 8 was attended by just over 50 people, gathered outside at the community’s cenotaph. Following that, the ceremony in Field on November 10 saw nearly 70 people packed into the Knights of Columbus hall, many of them students and teachers from École élémentaire catholique Christ-Roi in River Valley. Those students also took part in the ceremony, reciting poems and prayers. Also attending the Field ceremony was Timiskaming-Cochrane MPP John Vanthof.
In Verner, the ceremony was handled by the elementary school, Ste-Marguerite d’Youville. The school gymnasium filled up at 10:45 am on November 11, with students reciting poems and prayers, singing the national anthem and unveiling a collective mural they created on the theme of Remembrance.
Finally, on November 11, a large crowd of well over 120 people gathered outside the Sturgeon Falls Legion, braving a cold windy day. Branch 225 Poppy Chair Tim Trottier notes that they laid around 43 wreaths this year, about ten more than last year.
Trottier, who handles the Legion’s poppy campaign, was pleased to see a considerable increase there, too. As of November 10, and according to his canvassers’ figures, he estimates that funds from poppy sales alone are at nearly $20,000. That is apart from the funds raised through the sale of wreaths, and from other donations. He adds that the banner program, which was brand-new this year, brought in a bit of money as well. Altogether, Trottier is confident estimating the total raised at over $30,000 for the fund this year, compared to $22,000 last year.
Beyond the funds raised, however, he is most proud of the awareness raised by these initiatives. In particular, the new memorial banners erected on poles all along Front Street in Sturgeon Falls, commemorating individual local veterans, have been getting a lot of attention. This is in addition to the knitted poppies affixed to the bell tower on the corner of King and Front, and on the bridge – a project taken on by volunteer Connie Ratelle Kloosterman with the help of the WN Community Health Centre knitting club. With many residents wearing poppies and the Remembrance symbols now displayed prominently in the downtown core, reminders were everywhere of the loss, sacrifice and service of local veterans.
