Mayor Marolyn Morrison — It was a special Remembrance Day service at the Town Cenotaph

November 15, 2013 · 0 Comments

I have been attending Remembrance Day ceremonies for at least 25 years, but for me the one Monday at the Town of Caledon Cenotaph in Caledon East will be one of the most memorable of them all.
You see, usually when we have our Remembrance Day Ceremonies at 11 a.m., the 11th day of the 11th month at the Town, we will have staff, our emergency services and a few residents attend. We do not need to block off many parking spots and it is a nice small ceremony.
Well folks, all of that changed Remembrance Day 2013. We had to block off more than half of the parking lot. It was a good thing that Provincial workers — court services — got the day off.
Our Fire Chief, the two Deputies and the Fire Honour Guard started that morning at an assembly at Robert F. Hall Catholic Secondary School. They were very impressed with how attentive the students were. At the end of the assembly, the Chief, Deputy Chiefs, Fire Honour Guard and the teachers and students marched down to the Cenotaph at the Town Hall.
I was in my office, which faces Old Church Road, when I saw them all march past. It was a very impressive sight. I got my coat on and went out with our staff to the Cenotaph to start the Remembrance Day ceremonies. What a wonderful sight.
Before me was the Robert F. Hall student body, including the band, along with our Public Works employees in their safety vests, our Fire Department and Fire Honour Guard, the OPP, residents wearing their medals and a Second World War veteran proudly displaying his many medals received, along with a current serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces in Uniform. What a wonderful sight.
Unfortunately for me, it made me very emotional, since I have such a connection to the Canadian military with a grandfather, step-father, father-in-law and two sons and a daughter-in-law who have served or are presently serving. I believe that tears cleanse the soul — so my soul is cleansed!
I am so proud of everyone who attended, with a special mention to all of the students from Robert F. Hall who were very respectful and exceptional.
We are fortunate that we have many Remembrance Day services leading up to Remembrance Day. We were in Alton Sunday morning and half the village turned out to pay their respect with the Legion organizing the ceremony and fully participating, the air cadets, Fire Honour Guard and the Alton School children singing O Canada during the ceremony. We were in Bolton Sunday afternoon for their exceptional ceremony, with many, many residents turning up and a wonderful organizational job by the Bolton BIA. Bolton’s ceremony included a bus load of serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces from Camp Borden, along with the Sea Cadets, Air Cadets, Guides, Scouts, Brownies, Cubs and various organizations. It was also a lovely ceremony.
This brings me back to the wonderful community that we are so fortunate to live in and be a part of. Thank you all who participated, you make our community special.