Thursday, November 11, 2010

Norwich Cenotaph: Preparing to remember

On Tuesday I biked to my hometown, Norwich, Ontario.


["Go east on Dundas St., London to Dundas St. in Woodstock. Watch for '59' markers"]

Norwich is on highway 59, about 16 miles south of Woodstock, the dairy capital of Oxford County.


It is easy to find and so is the cenotaph on the high school grounds about a half mile south of the main intersection and our one and only set of traffic lights.


The names of those who served and died are listed on the memorial and many names are connected to people I grew up with, delivered papers to, or waited on at Maedel’s Red and White grocery store.


["Kennedy, Hughes, Poole, Alexander, Harris, Frain, Beattie...:" photos by GH]

I prepared my mind a bit for today’s Remembrance Day service in London by reading the names that appeared.


Some of the proudest memorials are found in wee villages like Norwich (e.g., Atwood’s immediately comes to mind), and I’m thankful that assorted community members banded together in the past to build monuments that help us remember today.

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