Melfort honouring veterans with mural, banners this Remembrance Day

Peggy George thought for years her town should put up banners to honour veterans with a connection to Melfort, but nobody was doing it.

“My dad would always say, ‘If you want something done, do it yourself,’ ” George said.

That led to a conversation with the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 30 in Melfort, where she learned the Legion would support her efforts but couldn’t do it alone.

As a member of Communities in Bloom, a non-profit organization focused on fostering civic pride, George put out the option for people in the community to purchase a banner that would honour their loved ones who served.

In what George said was no time at all, 70 of 74 lampposts along Melfort’s Saskatchewan Drive were spoken for.

Peggy George’s mother’s brother died while serving. She is now honouring her family member through the banner campaign she spearheaded in Melfort this year. (Peggy George/Submitted)

“It was overwhelmingly supported by the public and it was awesome,” George said.

The banners are dark and feature a photo of the veteran, their name, when they served and their capacity. Along the top, it reads “Lest we forget” above a Canadian flag and a Union Jack. Poppies adorn the space around the veteran’s photo.

They were designed by Jeff Pederson at Vital Signs Melfort.

“He was so thrilled to be a part of it, he didn’t charge me for his artwork set-up,” George said.

The interest is in doing this again next year is certainly there, as George said there’s already a waiting list for 2022.

“I’m not sure what I’m going to do about it because we don’t have any more lightposts,” she said, chuckling.

Being one who attends her town’s Remembrance Day service each year, George was not surprised by the interest or the number of veterans who have some sort of connection to Melfort who have served. She said not all veterans were able to be displayed, as some hadn’t heard about the program and others did not have family left to be contacted.

They did, however, open the opportunity up to families living in Melfort now who had loved ones who served but did not live in the town.

“I think it’s important for the people living here to be reminded of the sacrifices that the veterans did,” she said.

“If the people are living in Melfort, working in Melfort (or) associated with Melfort, we honour them as well.”

George’s uncle, Roy Woodside Lowther, died when he was 20 during the Second World War. He’s among those displayed on the Melfort street, which was recently renamed Veterans Way.

The banner for Roy W. Lowther now displayed in Melfort on Veteran’s Way. (Peggy George/Submitted)

“I can tell my grandchildren that’s my uncle and this is what he did and tell the stories that I know,” George explained.

Having lost her own brother to a car accident when he was 24, George understands the importance of remembering.

“I guess because of the losses I’ve had in my life, I can relate back to what it must have been like back in those years,” she reflected.

“War just wasn’t talked about. It wasn’t mentioned in our family at least … We never had war toys. I never felt slighted from that but we didn’t wear camouflage clothes, we didn’t play with guns and play army games.”

The primary importance of putting up the banners was to remember and pay tribute to the veterans that represent Melfort, George claimed.

From each banner, $25 was given to the town’s Legion. The rest will go back into the town projects that Community in Bloom undertakes. It will also help replace any damaged banners in the coming years.

The banners themselves will be hung each year for three years from the beginning of October until about the third week of November when the town puts up its Christmas decorations. After three years, the banners will be returned to the families.

George thinks an annual two-month period with the banners hung will be extremely meaningful, and keep the banners in good condition.

The whole project has inspired her to reflect and remember, as she has listened to the “endearing” stories of other veterans their families have shared.

“People have really enjoyed sharing them and I’ve really enjoyed hearing them and reading them,” George said. “Can you imagine sending an 18-, 19- or 20-year-old overseas without a cellphone (or) without internet? … It really hit home when I started to see all these young faces.

“We think we’re hard done by by having to get a needle or by having to wear a mask, and I sometimes think about what the veterans went through.”

Melfort Mayor Glenn George, Peggy’s husband, is very proud of the work done in anticipation of Remembrance Day, especially the banners along Veterans Way.

“They didn’t all fight in a war and they didn’t all die, but they all served their country,” he said.

Also in town is a mural that was painted on the Melfort Legion building. It depicts detailed red poppies that jump out against the white wall.

A banner for James T. Graham hangs from one of the 74 lampposts along Veteran’s Way in Melfort, Sask. (Peggy George/Submitted)

The mural was done by the Legion, the mayor said, and is very visible to those passing by.

The mayor said he himself has visited the mural several times to pay his respects and expects many in town have done the same.