The Remembrance Day committees in Niverville and Ritchot have been actively organizing services for November 11. These are to be part of the ongoing reminder that our current national peace was bought and paid for at a heavy price—through the lives and dedication of our war heroes, past and present. Peacetime isn’t something we can ever take for granted.
Ritchot Service
“The freedom we experience today to be able to live in a country that respects and celebrates diversity, a country made up of strong and peaceful people that value the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, is directly because of the sacrifices of our service men and women,” says Lesley Gaudry, member of the Ritchot Remembrance Day committee. “November 11 is a day that veterans, past and present, are in our hearts and minds. We acknowledge their dedication and service to our country and its people. It is our responsibility as citizens to not forget.”
The Ritchot service will take place at 10:40 a.m. at the cenotaph at 344 Main Street in St. Adolphe. Participants in the formal service will include community youth, cadets, Sparks and Brownies, RCMP officers, and a bagpiper. Attendees are reminded to dress according to the weather. Coffee and sweets will follow at the Club Amical.
If residents desire, donations of dainties can be delivered to the Club Amical immediately before the service. Volunteers are welcome to assist with coffee service and clean-up afterward.
Niverville Service
As in previous years, the Niverville Remembrance Day service will be held at the Heritage Centre. The one-hour service will begin at 10:00 a.m., with a luncheon to follow.
The committee expects to include special elements this year to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the end of World War I. A new feature on this year’s agenda will be a series of vignettes performed by Niverville Collegiate drama students. These dramatic readings will draw the audience into the imagined lives of a young WWI soldier writing a letter to his mother from the trenches, a mother with a child serving in the military, a child with a parent serving on a peacekeeping mission, and a soldier recently home from battle and coping with posttraumatic stress disorder.
The hope of every Remembrance Day service is for those in attendance to acknowledge that Canada’s involvement in wartime efforts extends right through the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and didn’t end with the world wars. Two recent events, committee members say, really helped to drive home the reminder that our current peace rests on tenuous ground: the events of 9/11 and the 2014 shootings on Parliament Hill.
“It’s an education for people,” says committee organizer Elaine Krahn. “We always try to have an educational component as part of the ceremony.”
The committee admits that planning this year’s event was a bit trickier than previous years.
“We had quite a few difficulties this year,” says Krahn. “First of all, it’s on Sunday, so we don’t know what to expect because church is on at the same time.”
Because of this, the committee is unsure whether they will be able to count on the same attendance as they have in previous years, which makes preparation more difficult. In the recent past, attendance has hovered between 700 and 800 people.
Guest speakers are also becoming harder to find as fewer and fewer world war veterans are still with us. The voice of Melanie Bergen, who has long graced the ceremony with renditions of wartime songs, will also not be available due to other important commitments this year. But situations like these only serve to bring out renewed creativity from the committee, who promise that this year’s service will be as memorable as any other.
Although Niverville has held ceremonies for more than 20 years, it didn’t take long before they were too large to take place at the cenotaph on Main Street. As the event has grown, so have the costs.
“We don’t get any town funding and we don’t get any government funding,” says committee organizer Lora Wachtendorf. “The Remembrance Day ceremony is completely reliant on the donations that happen here, right on this day.”
The Heritage Centre currently provides the community’s best and most spacious facility. While the Heritage Centre has been an avid supporter of the event, the rental costs still need to be covered through donations.
The expense of the luncheon, too, must be accounted for. Since Health Canada regulations only permit certified Heritage Centre staff into the kitchen, all food must be supplied and served by staff members. The Remembrance Day committee is thankful for their support and gladly takes care of this cost.
Still further expenses include honorariums which are paid out to bagpipers, buglers, and some guest speakers. As well, a sound system must be rented since the in-house system doesn’t adequately meet the needs of the event. Thankfully, many local residents and clubs come together to volunteer their time and efforts, helping to keep costs from becoming unmanageable.
“Donations are critical if our event is going to continue,” says Krahn. “At least so that we cover our costs. We are not trying to make money.”
Krahn and Wachtendorf hope that everyone will see the powerful impact that a well-orchestrated Remembrance Day service has on the community.
“During the course of a normal military day, Reveille is a wake-up call in the morning and Taps signifies the end of a day’s activities,” says Krahn. “On Remembrance Day, they reverse those two songs. Here, Taps signifies soldiers going to their final rest and the Reveille is waking us up to carry on what they were trying to do: restore and maintain peace.”
