The No Stone Left Alone ceremony gave Lloydminster a chance to reflect, remember, and place poppies on the graves of veterans ahead of Remembrance Day.
The annual event has been running for 10 years and organizers say it’s growing.
“The ceremony itself is growing, it’s getting more known out here and it’s not a one and done thing, you gotta do it every year, keep the remembrance going,” said Amy Hrynchuk, No Stone Left Alone site rep. “The poppies are the universal symbol of remembrance.”
Sgt. Scott Munro with the Canadian Armed Forces says the ceremony is a way to honour veterans.
“The idea is these people are not forgotten about, it honours them for their service and the sacrifices that would have entailed,” said Munro.
He says placing a poppy on the headstones is a way to recognize those who have sacrificed for our country.
“You’re not truly gone you’re not truly forgotten, it humanizes these people, somebody wasn’t just their regimental number in the great war who died,” said Munro. “You now know, whichever stone you’re at, they’re from there, they had a connection to the Lloydminster or to the area.”
“It humanizes them, that’s the real thing to remember,” he said. “Some kid who went to Korea, in Canada’s forgotten war, that was someone’s son, someone’s father, they weren’t just a number.”
The cold, windy, foggy Lloydminster morning didn’t deter residents from attending and seeing the ceremony at the Lloydminster Cemetary. The opening ceremony included students reciting poetry, speeches from dignitaries Rosemarie Falk, MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster, recently re-elected Saskatchewan MLA for Lloydminster Colleen Young, and Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers. O Canada was played along with a moment of silence and a prayer of remembrance.
Aalbers says it’s important to honour those that have served our country.
“I think it’s so important to honour the veterans that have brought the freedom to the country that we enjoy,” he said.
Remembrance is something that has a special meaning to the Lloydminster Mayor.
“Personally, it means an awful lot. My dad grew up in occupied Holland. My grandfather and my dad did not talk much about the war, when they did, it wasn’t very pretty, the stories were very sad,” a very emotional Aalbers explained. “But today, we have that freedom and we need to respect that and honour it and honour them here today.”
Over 400 poppies were laid on marked stones at the Lloydminster cemetery with the event being followed by a lunch at the local legion.
Read more: Opinion: Pte. Stephenson remembered
Locally owned and community driven, the Lloydminster Meridian Source is the online news source in the Border City. Whether it’s breaking news, features or sports, if you have questions about what’s going on around town, Source it with us.
Since online platforms no longer support the sharing of news, we encourage you to bookmark meridiansource.ca. Whether you’re having a coffee or enjoying a meal, check in any time for the most up-to-date news in Lloydminster.
