Wheatley River honours fallen
Remembrance Day services at the cenotaph
Hundreds of persons of all ages gathered at the Wheatley River cenotaph on Remembrance Day 2017 to remember, honour and pay their respects to the men and women who fought for freedom.
The sentries, Ordinary Seaman Allister Gallant and Leading Seaman Katie Lowe, members of the 323 Blue Heron Sea Cadet Corps, under the leadership of Lieut. Alana Green, stood with grounded rifles during the service.
The chairman was Ken Williams.
The service, which began with the singing of O Canada, was enhanced by piper Ryan Simpson who played before and after two minutes of silence were observed. The honour roll was read by Alana Green. Pastor Tim Edwards led in prayer.
Wreaths were laid on behalf of the government of Canada, the P.E.I. government, the office of the Opposition, the Malpeque Conservative Association, the Wheatley River Improvement Group, the Wheatley River Women’s Institute, the Wheatley River 4-H Club, the Prince of Wales Masonic Lodge #18, the New Glasgow Fire Department, the Cymbria Lions Club, the Hunter River District Girl Guides, the Canada Revenue Agency, Isabel Delaney and Associates - the Co-operators, the Watts/Gamester families, the Carr family, the Gallant family and the Chandler family. Sentries continued to stand on guard and Simpson played the bagpipes as individuals placed their poppies at the cenotaph and then were piped to the Wheatley River Hall for the remainder of the service. The sound system for the outdoor portion of the service, which was provided by John Bulman, enabled the large crowd to hear the proceedings.
The service in Wheatley River Hall included remarks by Williams, as well as Bush Dumville, MLA for West Royalty-Springvale, and Wayne Easter, MP for Malpeque. There was a prayer from Pastor Tim Edwards, a solo by Sarah Annema and the singing of several hymns. The highlight of this portion was a visual and oral presentation by Randy Reardon who visited Vimy and various other places in Europe in May 2017, the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge.
The music was provided by a community choir with Shirley Weatherbee as the pianist. The service concluded with Queen Save the Queen. The annual service at Wheatley River is organized each year by a committee, which has been chaired for many years by Melvin Ling.