Flag raising ceremonies at Chapleau Centennial Museum described as 'heritage moment' in community's history

Totem pole a Terry Way-White, Jack Whitney project

When the Chapleau Centennial Museum was officially opened on July 1, 1967 as part of the community's celebration of Canada's 100th anniversary, the flag raising ceremony was an important part of the proceedings.

The centennial committee headed by Arthur Grout had contacted the premiers of all the provinces and the prime minister requesting that a flag be donated for the occasion. It happened!

The flag raising ceremony was conducted after a Colour Party composed of members of Branch Number 5 of the Royal Canadian Legion arrived.

They just didn't raise the flags  had found representatives from each province to participate and do it.

 As I was working on this column, seeing their names brought back so many memories of growing up in Chapleau.

Here are the participants taken from a Chapleau Sentinel story.

Reg Thrush, who was born In England raised the Canadian flag.

Mrs. Earle Campbell, born in British Columbia raised her home province's flag, while Mrs. Ruth Smith did the honors for Alberta where she was born. Mrs. Edith McKnight raised the flag of Manitoba her home province.

Lorrie Gerset, sister of Jim and Ted Demers travelled from Saskatchewan to raise its provincial flag.

Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Goldstein raised the flag of the Yukon. Their daughter Dawn was working as a nurse there. The Nothwest Territories did not have a flag.

Moving east, D. O. Payette raised the flag of Ontario while Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Martel did so for Quebec.

Nova Scotia born Layton Goodwin raised his province's flag while Mr. and Mrs. James Good from New Brunswick raised their flag and Emmet Brazel did so for Prince Edward Island his province of birth. Mr. and Mrs. Walter Steed raised the flag of Newfoundland.

Thirty years later in 1997, at a flag raising ceremony to replace the flags, Recreation Director Terry Piche described it as a "heritage moment", and his comments applied equally to that ceremony as it did to the 1967 one.

1997

In 1997, coinciding with the celebration of the 75th anniversary of Chapleau High School, the flag raising ceremony was re-enacted but unfortunately the newspaper reports did not name the flag raisers.

However, Terry told those attending of the significance of the flags as "a symbol of the unity of the community" and the importance of preserving its heritage. So true. Throughout its history, people have come from all parts of Canada, and indeed many other countries to live in Chapleau.

Let me conclude with an aside that I came across while doing this column. I found a very short newspaper story suggesting that First Nations people camped on the site where the museum is located before the Canadian Pacific Railway arrived in 1885 --- members of the Memegos family.. If not on the exact site, nearby when they met surveyors circa 1881. I will leave that one alone for another day.




My email is mj.morris@live.ca