Residents have been generous in supporting annual poppy campaign
Little red poppies have started appearing on residents’ lapels and jacket collars, a clear sign that we are in the season of remembrance.
Moose Jaw’s Royal Canadian Legion Branch No. 59 prepared 230 trays for distribution for this year’s poppy campaign, with nearly 30,000 poppies divided among those containers. The campaign kicked off on Oct. 25 and runs until Monday, Nov. 11.
“This has nothing to do with the legion itself — the operations,” explained poppy chairman Bob Travale. “This money goes directly to veterans in need of money.” The Moose Jaw legion collected $47,000 from the 2018 poppy campaign. The legion then distributed $26,000 of that this year to veterans in need. This includes giving $5,000 to the Leave the Streets Behind campaign, a national legion program that helps veterans get off the streets. A widow of a local veteran also received $1,500 from the branch’s poppy campaign and $9,500 from provincial command.
Two years ago, the legion gave $10,000 to the former Five Hills Health Region to support the new Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital. Travale pointed out 15 Wing airbase sends its members to the hospital when necessary, while the community’s veterans sometimes wind up there. He hopes to donate at least $5,000 next year to the hospital from this year’s campaign.
“It’s money well spent,” Travale added.
Travale has been poppy chairman for three years. There are 70 volunteers — legion members, cadets, and Saskatchewan Dragoons —who help with the campaign. Many organize the poppy trays and distribute them to participating businesses. He also has 10 people who sell wreaths, which are then laid during the Remembrance Day ceremony at Mosaic Place.
There is some etiquette to wearing a poppy. The red flower should be worn on the left lapel or breast of your jacket or shirt. To keep it from falling off, the legion sells black metal backings for $1 that replace the poppy’s pin. You should not use a Canadian flag pin to keep the poppy attached.
The poppies should come off after the Nov. 11 Remembrance Day service and should not be worn as a fashion accessory, Travale said. Poppies can be worn at the funeral of a veteran, however, or during Decoration Day in June.
The campaign began on Aug. 15 for Travale, who started ordering wreaths, registering for parking passes and a business licence to sell poppies, and sending letters to businesses seeking their support.
“I have a checklist and whole book I go through. It’s more like an aircraft takeoff checklist,” he laughed. “It (can) drive me crazy.”
The poppy is a registered trademark of the Royal Canadian Legion. Community legions have to purchase the poppies from Dominion Command. Each box that Travale’s team puts together can hold 1,000 poppies and is worth $100 per box.
Every year on Nov. 1 the legion puts up a military display at the Town n Country Mall. The display focuses on veterans and some of the Royal Canadian Legion’s activities. Last year the legion received $700 in donations on the first day of the display.
Many times a poppy is given away for free, but it’s always helpful when someone gives a donation, Travale said. One thing the legion has noticed is residents of Moose Jaw and area are generous when supporting veterans or their spouses.
Federal legislation indicates someone is considered a veteran if he or she has served a couple of years in the military. Members of the RCMP are also considered veterans under similar legislation.
Active members can request funding from the poppy campaign, said Travale. The legion provided some money to help a member in Moose Jaw who was terminally ill. As part of the launch of the poppy campaign, the Governor General is the first to receive a poppy at the national level, while the lieutenants-governor receive the first poppy at the provincial level. Travale would like to see a similar tradition re-established in Moose Jaw, with the mayor receiving the first poppy of the campaign.