July 2, 2014 · 0 Comments
By Bill Rea
The community had waited some time, but the Rotary Club of Bolton Peace Park was officially opened Saturday morning.
The grand opening took place at Dick’s Dam Park.
The project is the work of the Rotary club, in partnership with the Town, Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), Bolton Community Action Site and the Bolton and District Horticultural Society. Ground was broken at the site in August.
About 100 people were on hand for the ceremony.
Rotarian Murray Stewart asked those on hand to imagine the 158 Canadian service people who were lost in Afghanistan, and then add all those who have fallen in other conflicts like Korea and two World Wars.
“The math is simple,” he said, observing that more than 115,000 are represented at the Peace Park.
“The road to peace must be our continuing goal,” he added.
“We’re all thrilled to be here today,” Mayor Marolyn Morrison commented. “Finally it’s here.”
The mayor expressed thanks for the Rotary club for stepping up on the project, as well as TRCA for letting te park go there.
“What a perfect place for a Peace Park,” she declared.
Club President Bruce Forbes agreed the location is appropriate, observing it’s a quiet, scenic area in which to reflect upon world peace.
“Please enjoy the park,” he said.
The occasion included a history of the site provided by Caledon’s former heritage resource officer Heather Broadbent.
As well, Lt.-Col. Marc Rodgers reflected on this year marking the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, “the first total war of modern history.”
He said some 650,000 personnel from Canada and Newfoundland served in that conflict, which was a lot, considering Canada’s population was about 8 million at the time. By the end, there were 68,000 Canadians dead and another 170,000 wounded.
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