Visitors to cenotaphs in Lucan and Granton this Remembrance Day will have an opportunity to take in the community’s first Poppy Project. “The Poppy Project is a community project where people crochet or knit poppies. And then the poppies get tied onto nets or fastened onto backings of some sort, and displayed on Remembrance Day,” explained Jane Corbett, treasurer for the Lucan Area Heritage Society, and one of a group of several local women involved in the Poppy Project. It began as a way to say thanks to veterans, but quickly turned into a community-wide tribute. Gail Lewis, President of the Lucan Legion Branch 540 says the visual display is moving. “And I didn’t know that they’d put them up yet, and I drove up, it’s just like ‘wow, it’s stunning,’ it’s visually stunning,” she exclaimed. The project taps into a trend in communities across Canada. It began in the Lucan area late last year. Members of the Lucan Heritage Donnelly Museum came up with the idea to knit or crochet 1,111 poppies for display at the Lucan cenotaph. “The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,” said Corbett. Before they knew it, they had more than 3,000 poppies. A decision was made to bring 1,111 to the nearby Granton cenotaph, according to Museum president Margaret Paul. “Well, I think they just wanted to recognize that our life is better now because of the veterans,” Paul said. About 30 people formed the core group producing the hand-made poppies. But as many as 100 people from the area took part, sending in one or two poppies at a time as their way of saying thanks to veterans. “To have so many people, organizations, individuals, volunteers come together from every different backround, every demographic to support this project- it’s just been incredible,” said Leigh Robinson, one of the volunteers and the branch supervisor at the Lucan Library. Lucan-Biddulph Mayor Cathy Burghardt-Jesson says the project highlights the best in the community. “Recognition, the celebration, the remembrance of our veterans doesn’t just happen on November 11th, it happens all year long. Because these poppies weren’t made just yesterday. It took time and effort for our volunteers to do that,” said Burghardt-Jesson. Remembrance Day services in Lucan-Biddulph take place at the Granton cenotaph Wednesday at 9:30 a.m., and at the Lucan cenotaph beginning at 10:30 a.m.
