Remembrance Day Services

Jeff Green | Nov 15, 2023

From Battersea to Denbigh, there were 10 different events marking remembrance in the Frontenac County and Addington Highlands this year. Some were organised and presented by the three active Royal Canadian Legion branches, and others by community groups and, in the case of the Plevna ceremony, the local township.

Even where Legion branches do not run the event, they are consulted and approve the plans for the ceremonies.

North Frontenac Mayor Gerry Lichty was the MC at the ceremony in Plevna. He drew attention to a new inset plaque, on the walkway, to acknowledge the contribution that the late Councillor Gerry Martin made to the installation of the Cenotaph, which was completed in 2015.

Before the wreath laying ceremony, he read a poem, and then a young musician, Leif Laframboise, played Taps before two minutes of silence. Ron Lemke, accompanied by Brooke Gunsinger, performed Danny Boy and Amazing Grace. The wreath ceremony followed.

Afterwards, the assembled crowd was invited into the hall for refreshments, courtesy of the township. The hall had been turned into a museum of sorts by the North Frontenac Historical Society and Archives. It included photos of veterans from North Frontenac, news clippings and memorabilia about fighters in the First and Second World War, and some other wartime displays.

In Verona, over 200 people attended a ceremony that was co-sponsored by the Verona Community Association, Atkinson’s Home Hardware, and the Township of South Frontenac. The Verona ceremonies started in 2012, after Lee Anne Benoit approached Linda Bates and Doug Lovegrove to start something up in Verona on Remembrance Day.

In that first year, about 25 people showed up and the organisers were encouraged. It has grown each year ever since, often with help from Prince Charles Public School, whose students have attended en masse when Remembrance Day falls on a weekday.

The crowd of 200 this year was the largest turnout yet, even without the audience of students.

“But a number of families showed up this year, with their kids,” said Linda Bates.

The ceremony also features a thriving partnership between the clergy and congregations of three area churches; the Verona Free Methodist, Trinity United, and Cole Lake Free Methodist, as well as the local business community, and CFB Kingston. Over 25 wreaths were laid at this year’s ceremony, which was followed by a lunch at the Verona Free Methodist Church.