OLDS — Due to COVID-19 pandemic protocols, the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 105 in Olds will be honouring veterans on Remembrance Day (Nov. 11) during a closed ceremony.
However, if the weather is good enough, a brief ceremony open to the public will be held at the Cenotaph after the closed service. That ceremony is tentatively projected to occur at about 1 p.m.
The closed service will be held at 10:15 a.m. in the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 105. As per COVID-19 protocols, it will be limited to 100 people only, including the executive, veterans and representatives of emergency services such as RCMP and firefighters and perhaps their spouses.
During the ceremony, wreaths will be laid by a representative of the Royal Canadian Legion.
Anyone wanting to have a wreath laid during the service, is asked to come into the legion office before Nov. 4 to ensure there’s enough time to have their wreath and name included in the program.
Any veterans who would like to attend the service but did not receive an invitation to do so, contact the Olds Royal Canadian Legion office at 403-556-6406 Tuesday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. to see if there’s enough seating left.
The poppy campaign began Oct. 30, also following COVID-10 protocols.
Under those rules, volunteers are delivering poppies and poppy trays to businesses that wish to participate in the campaign. Wreath sales are also being conducted at the same time.
Poppies and wreaths can also be purchased at the Olds Royal Canadian Legion.
In years past, members of the 185 Olds Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron used to sell poppies. They won’t be doing so this year, says Tom Bartholow, president of the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 105.
"We were going to try and do it with parents but they couldn’t get enough volunteers," he said during an interview.
Bartholow said he would have liked to have held the ceremony at the gym in the Ralph Klein Centre as the Olds Royal Canadian Legion has done for years, but under COVID-19 restrictions that just wasn’t feasible this year.
“It’s a real shame we can’t have it there, but you know, the crowds we got there, there’s no way we could have it there; even if we went half capacity,” he said.
Bartholow said the move to hold this year’s ceremony in the Olds Royal Canadian Legion under strict COVID rules (staying six feet apart and wearing a mask) is simply what has to be done to keep people safe.
"You rely on people. If you’re sick, don’t come,” Bartholow said.
“You can’t make anybody wear a mask. You can recommend it, right? So that’s all we can do,” he added.
“I could be carrying it. I don’t have any symptoms. But if I’m talking to you without a mask on, I could give it to you. And if your body’s in the right condition, that’s when it comes to life.”
