Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
With schools in Horizon School Division closed Friday, November 7th, and Monday, November 10th, Remembrance Day ceremonies were held today, November 6th.
Wakaw School held its service at 11:00, while Cudworth School held theirs at 2:00 p.m. In St. Louis, the school, which is part of the Sask Rivers School Division, will hold a Remembrance Day service on Friday, November 7th, at 11:00 a.m., while in Bellevue at École St-Isidore, students and the community will also gather at 11:00.
The Diefenbaker Auditorium at the Wakaw School was filled to capacity with students and community members on November 6 as the staff and students observed a time of Remembrance. Starting at 11:00, the ceremony began with Constable Bob Lennae of the RCMP, leading Legion members, Noel Brunanski, Terry Schneider, and Gloria Silbernagel, as they carried in the flags of Canada and Saskatchewan.
Allison Frie acted as Mistress of Ceremonies. Following the Last Post, the two-minute silence, and the Rouse, the assembled took their seats.
Wreaths were laid by Constable Lennae for the federal government and Legion member Noel Brunanski for the provincial government. Local Trustee, Pamela Wintringham, laid a wreath for the Horizon School Division Board, Cadet Mason Collier laid a wreath for the Horizon School Division Staff and Students, Councillor Regan Balone for the Town of Wakaw, the Romanchuk Family for the Wakaw School Community Council, the Gaudet Family for the RM of Fish Creek, students Manny and Marti Burechailo for the RM of Hoodoo, students Emma and Ryker Orenchuk for the RM of Invergordon, and by Keifer Paul for the Wakaw-Hoodoo Fire Department.
Vivian Sandell read the Names of the Fallen.
Also part of the Remembrance Day ceremony at the school were songs by the elementary choir, We Can Make a Difference and Just One Candle, a song by the senior choir, Travelling Soldier, as well as a poem read by Jordanna Peacock, a reflection read by William Collier, and a history of Flanders’ Fields.
Sometimes, it is hard to see why events well before one’s lifetime are important. Ceremonies like these, that pass on the traditions of remembrance, are also important ways to show our appreciation to Veterans and their families and encourage students and the public to reflect on what remembrance means to them, the history behind November 11, and the legacies of past wars and conflicts. Without the sacrifice of millions of people in the past, the world of today would be vastly different.
Remembrance is a symbol of hope that the world can experience long-lasting peace. As Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her December 22, 1945, column, My Day, where she described the enormous responsibility she and her fellow delegates to the United Nations faced, “In the end…we are ‘One World’ and that which injures any one of us, injures all of us. Only by remembering this will we finally have a chance to build a lasting peace.”
