By Grant Warkentin
It’s the Royal Canadian Legion’s 100th birthday this year, and the city is looking at marking the centennial with a public display of support.
Linda Kubinec and Barney Barnard from the local Legion branch 137 spoke to council last week, pitching the idea of three special crosswalks along Veterans Way (the portion of 11th Avenue that runs past the Legion and the cenotaph in Spirit Square).
“One way our community can honour the legacy and help shape the legion’s future is by designing crosswalks to commemorate the anniversary in a special way,” Barnard said.
He said the project was spearheaded by legion member Don Neill, who has been working in the background for months to bolster community support. As a result, council received several letters in favour of the project from the community, including from MLA Anna Kindy; Campbell River RCMP Insp. Geoff Preston; the Daybreak Rotary Club; Shoreline Arts Society; and the Campbell River and District Adult Care Society.
Barnard said the proposed design is a red maple leaf in the middle of the crosswalk with wording at either end, reading “In honour of those who served and sacrificed,” in both official languages. It would feature white, red, and grey colours, with black lettering.
This story’s featured image is an example provided by Don Neill showing what the crosswalks could look like.
Council was unanimously in favour of the idea and directed staff to report back with a work plan.
Coun. Tanille Johnston offered to connect designers with local language keepers to add the same phrase in Likʷala, which is spoken by the local Wei Wai Kum and Wei Wai Kai peoples. Kubinec said there would likely be room to add the message in a third language.
More than 12,000 Indigenous veterans have served in the Canadian military during the past 200 years.
The legion is hoping to have the crosswalks completed before the official July 17 anniversary date. Staff are now figuring out logistics to get the work done in time for the Legion’s anniversary celebrations.
Featured image: An example of what the crosswalks could look like, as seen in another Canadian community. From Don Neill
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