PENHOLD – Area veterans, dignitaries and members of the public joined the Town of Penhold this year in observing Remembrance Day.
The annual ceremony took place at the Penhold Regional Multiplex on Nov. 9.
“This year will be the first year that our local 7 Penhold Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron is running the Remembrance Day ceremony, in conjunction with the town,” said Mike Yargeau, mayor of Penhold. “(Commanding officer Capt. Jolyne Crashley) will be master of ceremonies and the cadets will play a large role in this service.
“It’s something they asked us about last year and we want to celebrate the fact that we have a rich history with the cadets,” he added. “We also have one of the oldest cadet squadrons in the country as well.”
The Town of Penhold has now held its own Remembrance Day service for three years, since November 2016. The cenotaph was first installed and unveiled in a special ceremony in the fall of 2015.
Yargeau noted contributing members of Friday’s Remembrance Day service included the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion, the Penhold Fire Department, Penhold peace officers, local veterans, and area school board trustees.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Armistice, the end of the First World War in 1918. Yargeau said with the help of technology, many people today are able to better understand the war experience of soldiers a century ago.
“They’re able to re-colour so many pictures from that era now,” he said. “It brings a whole new dimension when you talk about the First World War and look at what those men and women went through, when you can see the pictures in colour. It just makes it so much more real.”
Penhold resident Ashton Sharp joined her husband and their two daughters for the service on Friday.
“It’s (about) remembering our freedom,” said Sharp. “(We’re) teaching the girls that it’s important to never forget the past.”
