On Sunday, members of the public, alongside officials from the Oro-Medonte Fire and Emergency Services and members of various branches of the Royal Canadian Legion, gathered at the Warminster Ball Park to unveil a new cenotaph to replace the monument that was removed when the Warminster Legion sold its Highway 12 building.
“We are gathered here today to unveil and dedicate this new cenotaph to all the men and women who have fought and continue to fight for our freedom,” said Mary Thompson, former president of the Warminster Legion, Branch 619.
The ceremony started out with a pipes and drum parade by the City of Orillia Branch 34 Pipes and Drums, followed by a mass parade of legion officials and members.
The ceremony began with brief opening remarks, followed by the unveiling of the cenotaph.
“The new cenotaph will be able to keep the Warminster tradition of its annual Remembrance Day ceremony each year and not force residents to go elsewhere,” noted Thompson, during her opening remarks.
The original plan was to move the age monument outside the old Legion building.
When Royal Canadian Legion Branch 619 in Warminster closed in 2021 after 50 years of community service, members vowed to find a new home for the military landmark that resided out front of the building.
"They weren’t able to take apart the old one without breaking it," explained JoAnne Lawlor, a former membership chairman for the Warminster Legion.
"The mortar in and around the rocks was old, so they took all the wording off of it and saved the top piece with the cross."
"It's absolutely gorgeous," Lawlor said. "It's grey granite, it has black lettering, and it has poppies on it."
The new cenotaph was designed, created, and installed by Signature Memorials, which operates out of Orillia.
After the cenotaph ceremony had concluded, a second separate but connected ceremony began.
Back in 2021, as a result of the "tremendous upkeep costs" to keep up the building housing the old Warminster Legion, a tough decision was made to sell the building.
In concluding the sale of the building, the Warminster Legion decided to take the proceeds from the sale, $800,000, and distribute those funds to more than 30 community groups.
As part of that $225,000 was donated to the Oro-Medonte Fire Service to help them in purchasing a new fire truck for the Warminster fire station. That truck was also unveiled Sunday.
“We’re very excited to be able to purchase this brand-new truck which will help tremendously when responding to emergency calls,” said Rick Colacci, District Chief of Station 5.
The truck still has to be outfitted with gear and a few more additions, but once the truck is fully ready for service, it will be able to respond to emergencies such as water rescues and medical responses. It will also contain extra equipment so that the current pumper truck that would usually respond to certain calls can remain on call for active fire calls while the new truck responds in its place.
More work is also slated to be completed on the cenotaph, but legion officials say it will be fully completed in time for Remembrance Day this year.
-- With files from Tyler Evans