Hundreds of Callander residents lined Lansdowne Street this morning, their focus on Callander’s Cenotaph Park, waiting for Callander’s veterans and soldiers to march toward the Remembrance Day Ceremony.
Over the hill they marched, leaving from the Callander Legion and making their way toward the cenotaph. About a hundred elementary students followed in the wake of the soldiers, and the Legion’s pipe band led the way.
The Sergeant at Arms approached and saluted the cenotaph and proceeded to shout the names of those from Callander who made the ultimate sacrifice on the battlefield. “Roll call,” he shouted, and proceeded to list the names of fallen soldiers. The band’s drummer emphasized each name with a hit of the bass drum.
Joseph Aubin, Richard Shields, Walter S. Kettle, Leo Grozelle, Melville McLeod, Henry Dixon, Oscar Buchanan, Duncan McLeod, William Perry, William E. Morrison, Joseph Rochefort, John Bodie Smith, Thomas R Nodwell, and Victor Hearl.
All fought and died in WWI.
The Sergeant at Arms continued his roll call, shouting for C. Leroy, L. Masson, J. Kervin, D. Pigeau, R. Charette, V. Dufresne, G. Sullivan, D. McKenzie, V. Ouellette, W. Clark, J. Sampson, G. O’Connor, A. Demers, D. Leclaire, and R. Shank.
All fought and died in WWII.
“The roll has been called,” shouted the Sergeant at Arms, for all to hear. “There is no answer.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
