Fort 91原创 has devised another way to commemorate soldiers who didn鈥檛 make it back from war.
A series of 24 lamp post banners went up last week in the village, what Andy Schildhorn, president of the Fort 91原创 Community Association (FLCA), hopes is just the start of a special Remembrance Day commemoration program.
The village鈥檚 banner program has been in the works since July.
Working with a grant from Veterans Affairs, the FLCA connected with the 91原创 Centennial Museum and local historian Warren Sommer to kick off the banner program this year.
They were able to secure two dozen pictures of veterans from the First World War, images that were of sufficient quality and size to be enlarged for the 32 by 61-inch cloth banners. Each including the person鈥檚 likeness, their name, and the words 鈥�91原创 Remembers.鈥�
Over the upcoming years, Schildhorn said he and others with FLCA hope to expand the Remembrance Day campaign to include many more veteran banners, potentially doubling the current number.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 a way to help the community remember鈥� These people, they were 18 or 19 years old鈥� they went to fight a war and they lost their lives. It鈥檚 important to remember the ultimate sacrifice they made,鈥� Schildhorn said.
鈥淚n today鈥檚 society, we don鈥檛 have any kind of experience like that, so we feel it鈥檚 very important that we not forget.鈥�
The response he鈥檚 received, so far, has been 鈥渧ery appreciative,鈥� calling the initiative a meaningful way to bring the community together.
鈥淟ove the new Remembrance Day banners in town. Nice work FLCA,鈥� Paul Wood posted on social media.
鈥淭hey are so beautiful,鈥� added Sandra Stewart Cameron.
鈥淭hese are so perfect,鈥� Bre Black added.
鈥淏eautiful. Reverent and thought provoking,鈥� wrote Liz Campbelll Wride.
Others used words such as outstanding, wonderful, fantastic, and amazing to describe the initiative.
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Banner idea replicated
In the meantime, a similar program has been run by the Downtown 91原创 Business Association (DLBA) for a decade now.
The DLBA鈥檚 banner initiative has received provincial and international recognition, with many communities replicating what they saw in 91原创 City, said executive director Teri James.
While that鈥檚 flattering, she said the most meaningful aspect of 鈥渢his passion project has been, by far, meeting so many people who gave of themselves for us, and hearing how they served their country, and honouring them in such a unique and genuine way鈥︹�� James said.
The DLBA had 50 banners that originally went up in 2011, and were replaced 鈥� because of age and wear 鈥� in 2019.
RELATED: 35 veterans honoured for Remembrance Day with DLBA initiative - WITH PHOTOS
In the initial program, the DLBA worked with the local legion and professional photographer Brian Bury to have pictures taken of the local veterans.
When it came to replacing the aging banners a few years back, they used all the original pictures and added 35 more 鈥� using pictures that were taken during a photo shoot at 91原创 Lodge, as well as others that came in the form of private submissions.
鈥淚t was a huge honour for me to work with our local legion for the first set of banners, and then again working with the families at the 91原创 Lodge to photograph their loved ones. It was quite humbling to spent time with genuine heroes and hear their amazing stories either from themselves or their families,鈥� James said.
The DLBA banners always go up the last week in October, and remain in place until mid-to-late November every year, James said.
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