Poppy Project Commemorates Centennial Anniversary The Municipality of Strathroy marks the 100th anniversa- ry of its Cenotaph this November by hanging thousands of knit and crocheted poppies attached to bird netting from the Bell Tower in downtown Strathroy.
Working in partnership Museum Strathroy Caradoc, the Community Services department and the Legions in Strathroy and Mount Brydges, the call went out in No- vember 2023 for volunteers to make and donate thou- sands of the handmade flowers. “The response was overwhelming,” says Michelle Wright, Museum Strathroy-Caradoc’s Curator. “The original goal for the Poppy Project was 3,500 poppies. We received an overwhelming 10,000 from local, national, and inter- national donors.” A second installation will cover the gazebo in Cenotaph Park to commemorate the Mount Brydges Cenotaph’s 100th an - niversary, which took place in 2021. “Unfortunately, the Mount Brydges anniversary happened during COVID,” ex- plains Michelle. “Nothing could be done at the time to com- memorate it, so we’re doing an installation there as well.” The idea for the Poppy Project came from seeing similar
Hometown Strathroy- Caradoc Issue #48 November 2024 Your local community connector The 100% locally owned and produced Hometown Strathroy- Caradoc is published ten times a year with thousands delivered free to area residences, set out at local venues, and posted online at www.villagerpublications.com Publisher & Editor: Barb Botten P.O. Box 134, Lambeth Station Ontario N6P 1P9 Barb@villagerpublications.com 519-282-7262 Content Manager: Lynne WIlliams All articles by Lynne Williams unless noted otherwise Graphic Artist: Jon Botten Advertising: Gloria Rae Gloria@villagerpublications.com 519-495-4564 Debbie Mindorff Debbie@villagerpublications.com 519-870-3203 Copyright @ 2015 Villager Publications. All rights reserved. This magazine or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the Publisher. Information presented has been compiled from sources believed to be accurate at the time of printing however the Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. We’d love to hear from you. Contact Barb at Barb@villagerpublications.com Poppy Project volunteers hard at work at the Caradoc Community Centre. See the full story on this page.
installations in other communities, most notably Niagara-on-the-Lake. The Museum had to get permission from the Royal Canadian Legion, Dominion Command to use their poppy design. “Our local legions were instrumental in facilitating that,” Michelle adds. “We’re also grateful for the support of our community sponsors: Vari-Form, Entegrus, Nortera, and Execulink.” The Museum developed the poppy pattern according to the trademarked guidelines and then shared it through handouts, online, and tutorial videos on the Museum’s YouTube channel. The project also used workshops and social media to help spread the word about making the poppies. “The two local legions were also instrumental in hosting poppy-making workshops and putting the call out for volunteers to attach the poppies to the netting this past October,” adds Michelle. The Poppy Project installation is part of Strathroy’s 11 Days of Remembrance and will remain in place until November 12. The Museum hopes to obtain permission to redisplay this installation in future years. Besides the poppy installation, other events have been planned from November 1 to 11, includ- ing a war grave walking tour in the Strathroy Municipal Cemetery and a war-related artifact day at the Museum. For more information and to register for the events, visit www.strathroymuseum. ca or call the Museum at 519- 245-0492. Photo courtesy of the Municipality of Strathroy-Caradoc 11 Days of Remembrance Schedule of Events
Wednesday, November 6: Author Talk with C.J. Fredrick on her new book, Rooted and Remem- bered, at the Museum, 6:30 pm. Thursday, November 7: Special War Graves Walk- ing Tour of the Strathroy Cemetery, 1:30 pm. Friday, November 8: Guest speaker on the Jap- anese perspective in WWII at Museum Strath- roy-Caradoc. Saturday, November 9: Presentation by guest historian Andy Robertshaw at Caradoc Community Centre, 4 pm. Sponsored by the Strathroy Legion. Sunday, November 10: Online content available on Museum Strathroy-Caradoc’s Socials Monday, November 11: Remembrance Day Cere- mony (Organized by the Legion)
Friday, November 1: The Commanders Shadow Showing at the Museum Strathroy-Caradoc, 2:30 pm. Saturday, November 2: Strathroy Unveiling Cere- mony at 11 am and the Mount Brydges Unveiling Ceremony at 1 pm. Sunday, November 3: Online content available on Museum Strathroy-Caradoc’s Socials Monday, November 4: War artifacts on display, Museum Strathroy-Caradoc, 10 am to 4 pm. Tuesday, November 5: Cadets lead workshop at the Museum Strathroy-Caradoc at 6:30 pm.
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