Remembering...


Will Kernohan, Education and Program Co-ordinator, on Remembrance:

Each November I get a feeling of great pride but also great sorrow for those who gave their lives in past wars, peacekeeping and in service to this wonderful country. I can remember standing at the cenotaph of my hometown (Tottenham) at a Remembrance Day service when I was a little boy and trying to understand why the older gentleman in front of me was crying. I asked my father after the service and he explained, the concept of mourning and remembrance to me. The older gentleman "was remembering his friends, his brothers in arms" he said. Ever since I have been interested in acts of remembrance. How we remember is very important to me as a Museum worker but also to me as a Canadian. In 2011 we asked schools in Perth County to create a cross we could install on the museums grounds to symbolize an act of remembrance. The teachers who were involved told me "it was amazing how the children took to the task" and the many questions it helped generate allowed them a chance to explain remembrance. The goal was to inspire an understanding of the act of remembrance and I am very grateful to the students who worked on this challenge and the crosses they created were proudly displayed on the front lawn of the museum. On Remembrance Day please take the time for your own act of remembrance...