Community Commemoration and Legion services were held Saturday in Welland
By Joe Barkovich, Scribbler-at-large
WELLAND – A young woman and two children Saturday morning made their way up the gentle slope in Chippawa Park walking toward the storied monument.
“Where are we going, mommy?” one of the girls asked. Her mom answered, “To see something special, just wait and see.”
The “something special” was the Remembrance Day Community Commemoration Service held at the site of the Welland-Crowland War Memorial.
It was started by Wellander Jean-Luc Clin in 1997. The way the story goes, Mr. Clin was distressed to find the cenotaph unattended one Remembrance Day after moving to Welland. So he went about organizing a commemorative service, one that was simple and without speeches. Mr. Clin passed in 2018, the service is carried on by Betsy Warankie and Ken Cassavoy.
Mr. Clin would have been pleased with Saturday’s. Cassavoy said attendance at the first was “25 to 30” people. Attendance at Saturday’s was around 300.
The “kids and young people” in the crowd did not go by unnoticed. Cassavoy said it was “wonderful” to see so many attending and expressed his appreciation to those who had brought them along.
Cassavoy said the service “remembers and honors” 207 servicemen from the Welland/Crowland area who gave their lives in the First World War and Second World War. He reminded the crowd the names of all those who perished are inscribed on the back of Elizabeth Wyn-Wood’s iconic monument. He said the service also pays tribute to those who served in Korea, Afghanistan and UN peacekeeping missions.
The service differs from others because it brings CBC Radio’s live broadcast of Remembrance Day at the National War Memorial in Ottawa to the park. The crowd’s respect for the Piper’s Lament, Last Post, 21-gun salute, singing by the Ottawa Children’s Choir and more was evident by its silence throughout. Dare I say: You could hear a poppy drop.
The service ended with Betsy Warankie reading In Flanders Fields. Following that, attendees were invited to place their poppies on the cenotaph.
Some children approached clutching art with Remembrance Day themes. Under mom’s watchful eye they left their cherished work on a plaque at the statue’s base. Their offerings attracted admiring glances and kind words from some of the people filing by.
Branch 4, Royal Canadian Legion, held its annual service also Saturday morning at the legion on Morningstar Avenue.
/Joe Barkovich photos
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