Submitted by Richard Smith, Br 202 President
About this time of year, whenever I was in Lion’s Head in my legion uniform, I would have numerous people come up to me and ask me when they could obtain a poppy for Remembrance Day. With the number of requests I have had, I thought it an excellent idea to explain to everyone about the time for wearing a poppy and about Remembrance Day.
The day on which everyone can start wearing a poppy always falls on the last Friday of October (October 30 this year). The period from the last Friday of October until November 11 is called “The Period of Remembrance”.
In Lion’s Head, Pike Bay, Stokes Bay and Miller Lake, the poppies will be available for you to wear starting on October 30. The poppies are free and it is left up to you if you wish to make a donation to the Branch’s Poppy Fund.
In previous years, members of the branch and Ladies’ Auxiliary have been able to canvass poppies in Hellyer’s Foodland and the LCBO in Lion’s Head. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the branch and Ladies’ Auxiliary members will not be canvassing this year in either store. Instead, the Branch Poppy Chairman and his committee will be setting up a display with a poppy box both in Hellyer’s Foodland and the LCBO. Poppy boxes will also be set up in many other stores in the Lion’s Head area.
In normal times, at the conclusion of the Remembrance Day Service, people remove their poppy and can, if they wish, place it at the base of the cenotaph. The recommendation this year is to remove the poppy and to keep it.
