Down to the wire: Southern Alberta community recognizes Remembrance Day at new cenotaph

STIRLING, ALTA. -

The new cenotaph is located by the Village office, and will serve as the meeting spot for Remembrance Day ceremonies for years to come.

STIRLING, ALTA -- Ron Bore has lived in the village of Stirling for more than 45 years.

He served with the Canadian Reserve Forces, his father fought in the Second World War and, for him, the installation of a permanent cenotaph as a place to gather on Remembrance Day is long overdue.

"For the Village to remember our veterans beside our village office and to have this cenotaph here, my heart is full," said Bore.

"There were old timers when I was here in my younger days, and now I'm one of them. So, it's good to be here and to be part of this great day."

Bore has seen the community grow from just 300 residents in the mid 1970s, to roughly 1,300 today.

Between 200 and 300 people came out for Thursday's inaugural Remembrance Day ceremony in front of the all-new, 8-tonne cenotaph.

Plans to build the new cenotaph began last year, but the stone had to be shipped all the way from India. Then it was carved in Quebec before it arrived in Stirling just two days before Remembrance Day.

"You think, ‘Oh that's plenty of time!’ But, we were literally down to the last couple of days here," said Trevor Lewington the mayor of Stirling.

"I was never happier than to see that crane and to see that thing swinging in to place on Tuesday. I was very relieved."

Money for the roughly $60,000 project came from Veterans Affairs Canada and the Legion's Poppy Fund.

The cenotaph now sits on the village's busiest corner proudly displaying the names of soldiers with ties to the community who fought in the First and Second World War.

"This community here, and many small communities across Canada, don't necessarily have a ceremony. They tend to go to other locations nearby," said Glenn Miller with the Lethbridge Legion.

"This cenotaph has forged them the ability to bring their community even closer together."

Lewington agreed, saying he was happy to hear community members talking amongst themselves, swapping stories and recognizing the names listed on the cenotaph.

"It's impactful because people actually have a direct connection with a lot of the names on the cenotaph. That's not always the case in a bigger centre," he said.

Also attending the inaugural ceremony were members of the 20th Independent Field Battery based out of Lethbridge.