Volunteers gathered at Hillside Cemetery over the weekend to place Canadian flags beside the graves of local veterans in advance of Canada Day.
Bob Oldford says the group came together Saturday to recognize those who served.
“We had a group of folks came out and helped us put flags on the veterans’ graves,” notes Oldford.
Oldford estimates the number of veterans buried at Hillside is around 300, though not all are easily identified.
He adds that the section of the cemetery for the fallen is included in the effort.
Volunteers from across the community
The team that helped place flags included members of the Legion, the Commandos Motorcycle Club, and several families.
“There were people associated with the Legion,” says Oldford. “There would have been members from the Commandos Motorcycle Club that came out, which help us every time. They're veterans as well.”
Oldford’s own family joined in, along with a young family whose photos were later shared online.
“There was a young family... the mother of the family that came out with three young little girls actually took pictures of her girls with their father, who is a friend serving member, putting flags out on the graves as well,” adds Oldford. “That’s something we hadn't seen... so it was nice to have.”
Oldford says the flags send a clear message of respect.
“We're honouring those that have made the ultimate sacrifice and they did it for the country of Canada."
Cenotaph repair to begin next week
Oldford says construction is about to begin on the cenotaph restoration project in downtown Portage la Prairie.
“Next week we’ll start the construction of the concrete that needs to go in and the repairs to the bottom of the cenotaph,” he says.
The original goal was to raise $25,000, but extra costs, including preservation work at Hillside, have pushed the budget closer to $30,000.
“We're still raising funds,” continues Oldford. “We're going to go ahead and get it done and try and get it completed for September so that we can have a dedication of the new stones during Legion Week.”
The planned expansion will add two four-foot marble stones.
“The one stone will contain any of the military personnel who have paid the ultimate sacrifice since the Korean War,” Oldford said. “And on the other side will be a stone commemorating the RCMP.”
The RCMP stone will feature three names, including that of a Portage man who died in the line of duty in BC, along with two RCMP officers who died while stationed in Portage. The military stone will honour four Portage individuals who died in the line of duty since the Korean War.
Legion preparing for busy fair weekend
As the Portage Ex gets underway, Oldford says the Legion is once again running the beer gardens on site.
“They open at 4 p.m. and they'll stay open untill after the last act and a little later after that,” mentions Oldford. “On both the Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.”
Funds raised from the beer gardens support various Legion-led community projects.
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