GORDON – A local resident wanted to see the reinstatement of a project to have Christmas wreaths placed at the resting place of veterans (who served in Canada’s military services) in the Gordon cemetery this year; and this year the program will take place earlier than it had previously.
“We’re going to try this again and we are trying to find as many veterans’ plaques as possible to place the Christmas wreaths at,” said Sylvia Kemp, late last week. She explained, “we had tried this for a couple of years previously but we did it so close to Christmas that we got caught with so much snow and wind we couldn’t get to the veterans headstones to place the wreaths, or the candle lights we had with them would go out because of the wind.”
“I still wanted to do a ceremony, so we decided we will put the Christmas wreaths out at the veterans’ resting place on November 24, a month before Christmas Eve and after Remembrance Day,” said Ms. Kemp.
She and Barb Barfoot are making additional bows for the wreaths while making sure the wreaths are still in good shape.
Ms. Kemp was first inspired to have Christmas wreaths laid at veterans’ gravesites after, “I saw the veterans’ gravesites in Arlington, Texas with Christmas wreaths put on them. I thought this was an amazing thing to do and felt that we should be doing something like that here.” When she decided to initiate the project locally a few years ago, it had been suggested by Jo Woods that the wreaths could be done by local residents and the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 514 in Gore Bay was used as the venue to make the wreaths.
“I didn’t want to disrupt the Remembrance Day ceremonies, but still wanted to do something this year, so we settled on November 24,” said Ms. Kemp.
“We are calling on everyone who has a loved one, or knows someone who served in Canada’s military services and have been laid to rest in the Gordon cemetery, to let us know and we will have a wreath placed at their resting place on November 24,” said Ms. Kemp. “All military members deserve this type of respect and honour for what they have done.”
“We do not want to miss anyone, so if your loved one does not have a veteran plaque on their headstone please let us know,” she said. Ms. Kemp can be contacted at 705-282-3023.
