It has already become more than a monument. It has become a catalyst for a community with stories to tell.
For Darren Jones, a directional driller for an Alberta-based rig company, the Soldiers鈥� Tree became a labour of love as he used his expert skills with a chainsaw to craft the civic monument that now sits properly on the lawn at the Estevan courthouse.
For those who served in the military in the Second World War, the Soldiers鈥� Tree evokes memories of friends and battles lost and won in the most difficult of conditions.
For the general population of Estevan, it鈥檚 a point of pride and an 鈥渙n鈥� switch for a flood of stories about friends and relatives who served in the military.
鈥淟ester and I met at a rig outside Estevan,鈥� said Jones, recalling the start of the project that would take up a good part of his life for a year.
He was referring to local trucker Lester Hinzman who, when he learned the skills Jones had with a chainsaw, led him to a huge 100-year-old cottonwood tree located on the property once owned by the Pawson family who operated a large vegetable market, in the valley on the southern edge of the city.
Jones saw promise in the huge tree, and, fueled by Hinzman鈥檚 eagerness to get the story of military sacrifices out into the public eye, he got to work in his spare time.
鈥淲hile I was working on it, there would be visitors coming down all the time. They would tell me how they used to climb the tree as youngsters, or something about the market. I saw how this thing was actually drawing a community together and the carving became just a small part,鈥� said Jones speaking at the Soldiers鈥� Tree dedication ceremony on Sept. 10.
鈥淩eally, this is your story,鈥� he said, sweeping his arm toward the monument and looking at the audience of over 1,500 people who had gathered for the special occasion.
Jones paid tribute to Hinzman who was in the audience, sharing the moment.
Jones said he was constantly reminded by Hinzman that the military sacrifices needed to be depicted, which he hoped he had been able to do.
鈥淐herish your freedom,鈥� he said.
Later, during an interview with Lifestyles, Jones said the actual chainsaw sculpturing took about 18 days. Those were 12-hour days, since he wanted to maximize the time with the donated equipment from local businesses. An additional two weeks were put into building a couple of park benches, sculpted from B.C. trees, also using a Canadian military theme that included the image of currently serving army officer MWO Ivan Finstad, a former Estevan resident. Finstand was in the crowd too, part of the PPCLI honour guard that paraded to the monument from the Estevan Legion that morning.
Also making his way to the monument was 96-year-old W.B. (Barry) Needham, formerly of Wynyard, Sask., now living in Regina, who said he had to make the trip with his daughter Debra once he heard that a flypast was being staged, using a Second World War Spitfire fighter plane, the same model that he had piloted in battles over England and France in that war, before he was shot down while strafing a German supply train. He was taken as a prisoner and was later liberated by Allied forces near the end of the war. The monument and the ceremony evoked a tear or two from this first-time visitor to the site as well, just as it may have for Finstad and Hinzman and hundreds of others who have made their way to the tree.
Chainsaw sculpting came naturally to Jones, he said with a smile.
鈥淚 grew up in Rimbey, and as a kid, I was given a chainsaw so I could go out and get firewood.鈥澨�
He was also developing skills as a visual artist, doing some paintings on canvas, so the transfer of talents were pretty obvious for him.
鈥淚 would create images in my painting and then carve them out of wood too,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 think I got Mr. Finstad pretty well, just from a photo his father provided. I hope he agrees 鈥� a little bit at least,鈥� he said with a laugh.
Jones has another chainsaw work of art in that former hometown of Rimbey. It too, sits in a primary spot in the community, a 12 foot tribute called The Traveler, made from wood from the tamarack family of trees and donated to a Rimby park in time for that community鈥檚 100th anniversary in 2002.
鈥淚 never knew Lester before I met him at the rig site, and we shared stories and he said he had this tree to show me and it just went from there. We had some rain early on so that held us up. I believe a lot of the tribute is based on a story from Lester鈥檚 dad, but there are a lot of stories to be told around this tree, as you know.鈥�
Jones went on to say, 鈥淚 got close to Ivan Finstad, even though I never met him. You carve these images and it starts to touch your soul. I am creating something in my mind and I am only depicting something I see while I鈥檓 working, but when it鈥檚 finished 鈥� well, I guess it鈥檚 about respect. You guys rallied around and I got such great support. Let me tell you, just getting a bucket truck a couple of times, cut the work time in half. That鈥檚 just one example. You have a very generous community here.鈥�
It seems so.
It seems to be a community that cares.听听
听
