Wentworth -
Their war veterans may be gone, but the memory of sacrifices made remains strong in this community.
A crowd of more than 100 people gathered at the cenotaph on Wednesday, Nov. 11 to mark Remembrance Day, as both full-time and seasonal residents joined with uniformed firefighters and other guests to pay their respects.
"It was a little cool, but a beautiful day," said Bob Hyslop, who played "The Last Post" and "Reveille" on his trumpet. "It was rare for this ceremony, because it's usually perishing cold."
Hyslop, who has lived in Wentworth for the past 40 years, joined the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1946, only a year after the last shots of the Second World War were fired. Having played horn as a youngster, he said he often got asked to play it at the different places where he was stationed, so has always enjoyed it and tried to keep it up.
Remembrance Day is a special event for him, as he looks at the names on the monument of those lost in the two world wars.
"I knew some of the guys," said Hyslop. "I didn't know Ernest Cummings (a Wentworth native who died in the Second World War). He was a Spitfire pilot and I was a fighter pilot. So I remember a lot about aviation and things like that."
There is no legion branch in Wentworth to organize the annual Remembrance Day service. The Wentworth Community Development Council purchased the cenotaph, and the service is put on by a group of local volunteers, with Faye Henderson leading the charge.
Henderson said she was impressed by this year's turnout.
"I think it went very well," she said. "We get more every year. A lot of cottage people are here for Remembrance Day, and a lot of lake people who are still here on the weekends."
After a wreath-laying ceremony, the crowd ventured across the street to the recreation centre for a reception.
Putting on the Remembrance Day service is not a chore but a labour of love for Henderson, who explained that Nov. 11 has always been a very important occasion to her.
"I had three uncles in the war, and I have a nephew in Afghanistan now, and I think about him," she said. "It's really been important to me as a way to say thank you. It's an important day we all should take part in, because we all reap the benefits of their sacrifice."
