Harrowsmith Memorial Wall and Remember Arch
Brenda Crawford has been working on developing a suitable location to mark the contribution of the Harrowsmith community, and its members, to the Canadian Armed Forces over the past 110 years.
When the street configuration in the town changed a few years ago, it created a dead end at the end of Colebroke Road, right in the middle of the village. The idea of turning this new urban feature into a small memorial parkette struck Brenda as a way to accomplish that goal.
One of her motivations was to honour her own family history, and that of her husband, Rod.
“I've wanted to see this happen in Harrowsmith for a long time, since my Dad passed away,” she said early this week, in a phone interview.
Brenda's father, Harold Snider, and Rod's father, Cam Crawford, both served in World War 2. They both went off to war, like others from across the region, by boarding trains in Harrowsmith, which was a railway junction town at that time.
In fact, the location of the Harrowsmith train station was just steps away from where the Memorial Wall is located.
In addition to the wall, and a sculpture which was donated by the late Rick Law, a metal worker from the Godfrey area, a Remembrance Arch is being constructed at the site, which is also being built and donated by a Godfrey based metal company, Industrial Metal Form.
The concrete for the base where the Arch will be installed is being donated by the Sydenham and Hartington Home Hardware stores, and all the labour for the construction and installation is being done by volunteers.
In the coming months, Industrial Metal Form will begin doing some more work on the project. They will be making metal plaques, engraved with the name and other simple information of Canadian armed forces members, current and historical. Brenda and Rod have chosen to engrave the names of their father's, and World War 2, on the plaques they have ordered.
Plaques can be ordered by email – [email protected], or phone – 613-372-5807. The cost is only $40.
Construction of the arch, and the installation of the first set of plaques, will take place in April, and Brenda is hoping to do the grand opening of the Wall and Arch, in June.
“I want to make sure it happens before school is out for the summer,” she said, “so the students can come out for it.”
One of the features of the location of the installation is its proximity to both Harrowsmith Public School and St. Patrick's Catholic School, and students are able to attend Remembrance Day ceremonies easily each November.
The effort to bring the site to completion has been supported by the township. Brenda Crawford appeared before Council on December 9th and was well received. Manager of Engineering and Capital Projects Tory Dunlop, and Manager of Recreation facilities Tim Laprade, have provided support for the project, which will be assumed and maintained as a township asset. ■
