As I was doing some research for a Remembrance Day project, I came across a story that I wanted to tell you about. Make a cup of tea and get a tissue and sit down with me for a few minutes. Once upon a time there was a young Canadian soldier named George Stephen Cantlie, a brave soldier in WW1. When he would write home to his family in Montreal, in each letter he would enclose a pressed flower that he found growing in the battle field or roadside of France as a little gift to his baby daughter, just in case he might not make it home.
This story inspired a film-maker named Viveka Melki to create an artistic exhibition called 鈥淲ar Flowers鈥�, which focuses on the letters and the flowers, which were carefully saved for one hundred years by George鈥檚 family, plus stories of ten Canadians involved in the war. As an added dimension, even scents are included in the exhibit to further enhance memories.聽 This amazing exhibition has been on display in Ottawa and also in Vimy, France. It is meant to show that there is beauty even in the darkest moments. Visit https://warflowers.ca to read the whole story. It鈥檚 a wonderful, heartfelt project; I wish we could all see it!
An article about this exhibition from the Legion magazine in 2017 said that George loved flowers, and between his duties would pick flowers when he saw them and press them in a book, then send them home. Isn鈥檛 that touching and beautiful? To me, this idea extends to how we have special plants in our garden, plants given to us by family or friends, and which hold an extra special memory after they are gone.
The poppies of Flanders鈥� the oaks of Vimy鈥� the hundreds of thousands of tulips of gratitude, gifted by the Netherlands, that bloom every spring in Ottawa鈥� the forget-me-nots worn on July 1 in Newfoundland and Labrador in memory of the battle of the Somme鈥� all living botanical remembrances of the lives and deaths of so many brave soldiers. 聽
Let鈥檚 make a pledge, gardeners, to have at least one flower in a vase on our kitchen table for Remembrance Day.聽 We鈥檝e talked about this before: that we can have just one bloom in a vase, doesn鈥檛 have to be a fancy arrangement, but a bloom to inspire and refresh our eyes and our souls.聽 This Remembrance Day bloom, whatever it may be, will make us pause and think. The brave men and women who fought in the wars deserve our respect and remembrance. Not all of them came home. Could we be as brave?
Since we鈥檙e chatting about聽 Remembrance Day, try to be at the Yorkton Public Library on Nov. 13, 7 p.m., for the Yorkton Film Festival Open Cinema.聽 A film called 鈥淪earching for Vimy鈥檚 Lost Soldiers鈥� will be shown, telling the story of CA40, a group of Canadian soldiers who fought at Vimy, and 44 soldiers who were never recovered after the battle. Military historian Norm Christie believes he knows where the missing men of CA40 are, and this film highlights his search for Vimy鈥檚 lost soldiers. The film is free and all are welcome.
The next meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society is our 鈥渕embers and invited guests only鈥� AGM. It marks the end of the gardener鈥檚 year for us, and is the time we look ahead and will soon start making plans for next year鈥檚 interesting program!聽 Visit us at www.yorktonhort.ca to see what鈥檚 coming up! 聽
And I know you are wondering, as I was, whether George Stephen Cantlie made it home.聽 Yes, he did, and died in 1956 in Montreal. He was able to see his baby girl grow up!
Have a good week, wear a poppy, and have one special bloom on your kitchen table on Nov. 11: a gardener鈥檚 tribute to our soldiers, with profound thanks.
