By Wendy Lamond
Locals and visitors to town may have noticed the banners proudly displayed on the lampposts downtown, up and down Queen Street and now at Little Falls Elementary School and the Pyramid Recreation Centre (PRC) parking lots.
This ongoing legacy project is taking place in many towns across the country and pays tribute to local veterans who have died in service, those who are still active in service and retirees.
The banners in town were put up a bit earlier this year and will come down after Remembrance Day. This is the fifth year St. Marys has been participating in the banner program and the town now has 190 banners hanging up and six that are being sponsored at local businesses.
New this year are banners on 26 poles on Queen Street West, in the PRC parking lot and in the Little Falls school parking lot.
The process to hang the banners takes a bit of time and is led by three teams. In each team is a Forman Electric employee and two Legion volunteers.
The banner program is a great way to honour our veterans and seems to be more popular in smaller towns as, in many places, there is more than one generation being displayed.
Tom Jenkins shared that his grandfather, father and himself are all on a banner and St. Marys Legion president Bim Graham told the Independent he has seven uncles, his dad and himself, all of whom are featured on banners around town.
The banners are produced locally at Gerber’s Graphics and even with wear and tear, none have needed to be replaced in the five-year span.
There is a one-time sponsorship fee of $200 for the banners that goes toward the cost of production, installation and takedown.
The St. Marys Legion covers the remainder of the cost, which could be between $5,000 and $6,000 for poles and brackets. Anyone interested in supporting this initiative can donate to the banner program at the local Legion branch.
A list of locations for each of the banners can be found on the St. Marys Legion Branch 236 Facebook page, at the Legion and at the St. Marys Independent office.
The Legion is grateful to Forman Electric for the great job they do in helping with the project, to all the volunteers, the Town of St. Marys and to everyone that sponsors a banner. It is a big project but also goes to show the pride that the town has for all the locals who fought and are still fighting for peace, our freedom and our country.
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