ESTEVAN - The Â鶹ÊÓƵ East Military Museum's efforts to remember the veterans of southeast Saskatchewan through commemorative banners continue to have lots of interest.
More than 180 banners are hanging in 13 communities, with Ogema being the newest community to come on board. Forty-six banners have been added throughout the region this year, including four in Estevan.
Carlyle, Lampman, Stoughton, Redvers, Carnduff, Macoun, Midale, Kisbey, Weyburn, Radville and Whitewood are also participating. Carlyle has the most banners with roughly 70.
"Their legion has really come to the forefront with getting veterans from that area displayed in Carlyle. If you ever go into Carlyle around Remembrance Day, they have them on all of the main streets and in all of the residential areas, so it's quite a thing to see in Carlyle if you're there and take a drive around town. They do have quite a few banners commemorating a lot of the veterans from that area and from White Bear," said Craig Bird, the museum's founder and a local military historian.
Among the new banners for that area is Eliza Beatty, who was the National Silver Cross Mother in 1979. Bird said the museum gets some unique requests every year, and it tries to accommodate them if possible.
"Three of her sons had served during the Second World War, and unfortunately two of them were killed during the Dieppe Raid. She was commemorated as the Silver Cross Mother and was taken to Ottawa to lay the wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," said Bird.
He wasn't able to hang all of the banners in Estevan this year due to the downtown revitalization on Fourth Street. The street light poles were removed, so some of the banners that normally hang around the cenotaph at the intersection of Fourth Street and 11th Avenue were not installed.
"Next year we plan on adding some more, so it will all work out in the end. But you have to be flexible and do what you can," said Bird.
A couple banners on Kensington Avenue were damaged due to the wind storm that blasted the region in October.
Bird is surprised at how quickly the project has taken off since it was launched in 2021.
"As word's getting out, and people are seeing them up, I'm getting more and more interest, which is always nice. It's one of those things in which you get them out in the community, people see them and they want to know where they got them from. It snowballs from there," said Bird.
The cutoff date to submit a banner request is the middle of August, so the museum has time to produce the banner and get the communities to help hang them. Bird said he is already starting to take orders for 2025.
"We try to do it all at the same time to save on shipping costs with the banners, so that we can get them out to the communities, and also give the towns a little bit of time and an opportunity to put them up when the weather is nice," said Bird.
If someone wants to purchase a banner to remember someone who served, Bird said they need to include the name, the rank if it's known, a photo, preferably from the individual's service time, the unit(s) the individual served with, and the era of service. If they don't have the information, part of the museum's effort is to get service records for the family members so they know the loved one's history.
The museum is looking to honour anyone who has served their country, including those who are active with the Canadian Forces.
"We've done banners for members that have served other countries. For example, in Carlyle, we have a family there in which their family members have served in the Australian army. We have members in some of the communities that have served in the French Army or the British Army. It doesn't matter as long as their family is here, and they want a banner to commemorate somebody's service."
The banners cost $200, including tax. Depending on how much a family wants to spend, the museum offers an option to purchase the hanging hardware which is $300. Some companies have decided they want to help by donating the funds to supply banner brackets, such as the Â鶹ÊÓƵern Plains Co-op, who purchased the brackets in Estevan in front of their grocery store on Fourth Street, and in Carlyle. Some companies have a veteran working for them, and have bought a banner to honour an employee.
"We can hang it up where their workplace is so that people can see they have veterans working for them and they appreciate them," said Bird.
After Remembrance Day, the banners are taken down and often replaced with Christmas decorations. The banners are stored by the municipality or the local branch of the Royal Canadian Legion. Bird stores the banners for Estevan.
The museum is also always looking to add more communities for the project, but Bird knows some towns and villages don't have the ability to hang the banners due to size or the availability of suitable light poles.
Further information on the project and ordering of banners can be found on the Â鶹ÊÓƵ East Military Museums' website. People can also email [email protected].
