by Betty Van Volkenburg, Publisher
The Singles Center; Singles, The Magazine for Today's Single
 and The Singles Courier

Being raised in the north, in Kemptville, Ontario, a small town about 35 miles south of Ottawa, Canada’s capital, doesn’t make me any more tolerant of winter than anyone else who is not into winter sports.

One of my strongest memories was of standing at The Cenotaph, the statue of the Unknown Soldier, on November 11^th, Remembrance Day in Canada.

As a member of the Girl Guides, I marched along with other youth groups like the Cubs, Brownies and Scouts, behind the local Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion, led by the Kemptville Citizen’s Band, to the memorial services at The Cenotaph beside the Post Office on Main Street. The Guides prepared for weeks by practicing their marching and making sure their uniforms were neat and pressed. It was a very important day and we wanted to look smart behind the veterans.

The Legionnaires always looked smart in their gray trousers, blue tam and blue blazer with their gold emblem on their left breast pocket. The Citizen’s band uniforms resembled the veterans’ with their blue jackets, grey pants and peaked hat that looked like an Air Force cap. They always played a John Phillips Sousa’s March, and Anchors Away, which Miss Eileen Perry always played at school to march into School Assembly in the gym. To this day, these pieces bring tears to my eyes when I hear them played.

My parents were dedicated Legion members, with my father serving as a Branch president and my mother as president of the Ladies Auxiliary. Seeing my father standing at attention, stiff as a ramrod, I knew he was thinking of his buddies who didn’t make it back from World War II. Listening to the prayers and addresses by the veterans I felt the pain of their losses and I felt gratitude for my father and his fellow comrades who put their life on the line for their God, country, and families.

But I also felt miserably cold. Slacks were not allowed as part of the Girl Guides uniform and back in those days it would have been unthinkable for a girl to wear slacks to such a formal public affair. I clenched my teeth tight to keep them from chattering and clasped my hands tight behind my back to keep from shaking out of my shoes. As uncomfortable as I was, I still felt blessed to be still free and thought that whatever unpleasant weather I had to endure during the services, it was far less than what my father and other soldiers had to suffer to protect us.

After the services we marched to the Legion Hall where the Ladies Auxiliary had prepared a buffet. Soon dart games, cribbidge, and killer euchre games were in progress, along with war story swapping between the legion members, their families, townspeople, and even their honorary member/bartender, a former German soldier who had probably fought against them in the war. It was a large extended family brought together by a common tragedy.

My parents are now deceased and I seldom see most of the people I knew then, but my values that were shaped by their dedication to service and community remains with me and my children. Because of them, I will always remember – Remembrance Day.

Until next time....

God Bless and God Speed,

Betty Van Volkenburg

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