INNISFAIL – As local fiddlers Murray Cameron and Brian Jackson played old-time music in The Lest We Forget Room for volunteers taking on the long and arduous task of preparing hundreds of crocheted poppies to create a curtain, there was a sense that time might be a factor.
The poppy stitching day on Nov. 2 at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion Branch #104 began at 1 p.m. with a goal to finish at 7 p.m.
There were about a dozen volunteers, but no real count as to how many poppies there were; just bags and bags of them sent from citizens in town, across the region, and even from faraway places in Canada and across the globe.
“We had one dropped off today from New Zealand,” said volunteer Wilma Watson, president of the Innisfail Art Club.
Earlier, Watson and Karen Scarlett, the project’s coordinator, were wondering about the total number of poppies, as their arrival through the doors of the legion never seemed to stop since the beginning of the Crochet Poppy Project campaign on July 10.
“Two weeks ago, we counted and we were kind of close to 1,000, so easily we got 1,300 or 1,400,” guessed Scarlett.
But no that was not quite right, said Watson.
“They are now saying 1,800,” she told Scarlett the accomplished local artist who also put together the successful Community Crochet BOMB Project last spring. It was a project that also got global attention and produced more than 3,000 crocheted hearts from across Canada and the world.
“I'm sure that we got eyes on us, but poppy curtains have been made all over the world,” said Scarlett. “I think the first ones that came up were in England. I know the Tower of London has them.
“Hopefully, we've inspired some other people to start doing projects in their own communities.”
Nevertheless, the Innisfail project is big, so big Scarlett wondered if some of the stitching work would have to be done at home by volunteers to ensure the project gets done in time for Remembrance Day.
But there was no panic with either lady.
Everyone was having a good time, and besides the project was just too important for them, especially with it being such a memorable year for legion members who have witnessed Scarlett and volunteers create the huge poppy mural on the building’s south, east and west exterior walls.
As well, the Innisfail legion launched its Veterans Banner Project on Main Street; a project that begins with 20 veteran banners and a goal to have as many as 60 in future years.
“How breathtaking it will it look when we're out celebrating on November 11, and even leading up. The banners going up has just been so lovely and seeing people celebrate that has been really great,” said Watson. “I think that poppies in Innisfail helps the community connect with this building, which has been really important for community building. We can all have a little piece of helping the legion celebrate and the veterans being honoured.”
In the meantime, Scarlett has no doubt that every single crocheted poppy will make it on the new poppy curtain; a repurposed fishing net that measures 16 feet long by four feet wide, an area of 64 square feet.
The hope is, and it will be a legion-only decision, that the poppy curtain will be draped over the cenotaph on Remembrance Day.
“The curtain is a gift to the legion and it is up to the legion to do as they please,” said Scarlett. “I've always envisioned that it would be beautiful at the front entrance so that people can see it when they walk into the building. But it's going to be totally up to the legion with what they do with it.”
Scarlett is also creating a calendar for 2024 that will feature photographs of the new poppy mural.
She’s hoping it will be ready by Remembrance Day with sales proceeds going towards raising funds for the next part of the mural project.
