Revelstoke honours Remembrance Day

Revelstoke residents lined the streets surrounding Revelstoke’s war memorial, bowing their heads for a two-minute silence as part of Remembrance Day proceedings.

The Last Post had rung out across the gathering at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2016. The trumpet’s lone voice and the cool, overcast day created the appropriate mood for sombre reflection.

Earlier, Revelstoke’s boy and girl cadets, the Revelstoke Highlanders Pipe Band, Royal Mounted Police, Grizzly hockey players, and many more marched proudly in the traditional parade from City Hall to the Cenotaph on the corner of Garden Avenue and First Street West.

The Revelstoke Mounted Police and the Revelstoke Higherlander Pipe Band march in the parade on Remembrance Day, 2016. Photo: Emily Kemp/Revelstoke Mountaineer

Emcee John Opra, pastor Dan Meakes, Mayor Mark McKee, and Royal Canadian Legion Branch 46 president Ed Koski presided over the ceremony at the Revelstoke Cenotaph.

In his address to the crowd, Mayor Mark McKee told the story of Revelstoke resident John Augustyn, who had a tremendous and horrifying journey as a prisoner-of-war. The 97-year-old Polish national made a life in Canada after the war.

Revelstoke mayor Mark McKee addresses the crowd on Remembrance Day, 2016. Photo: Emily Kemp/Revelstoke Mountaineer

In his turn at the stand, Revelstoke Legion president Ed Koski thanked those who had contributed to the war effort. They are, he said, to whom we owe the free democratic lifestyle we enjoy today.

The Revelstoke Legion was standing room only as residents flocked there after Remembrance Day proceedings on Nov. 11, 2016. Photo: Emily Kemp/Revelstoke Mountaineer

After the wreaths were laid and God Save the Queen was performed by Sharon Shook, the crowd disbanded to the Revelstoke Legion, for hot chocolate and hotdogs, coffee, or beer.