By Ashley Harper Last week, on Wednesday 6 July 2022, residents of Morewood and the surrounding area gathered to mark a monumental occasion: the 101st anniversary and rededication of the Morewood Cenotaph. The stone likeness of Captain Ernest J. Glasgow towered over the crowd from atop the memorial as the evening's speakers recounted the monument's history and praised the community for coming together to maintain it.
Before the monument could be made and installed, the Memorial Association needed somewhere to put it. In fall of 1919, they purchased part of Concession 11, Lot 18 in Winchester Township from Morton Hunter at a cost of $500. A copy of the original deed can be found at the end of this article. With a location secured, the creation of the monument progressed. The stone for the foundation portion was sourced from Stanstead, Quebec and the granite for the statue came from Barre, Vermont. It's unclear who sculpted the Glasgow statue—it may have been Canadian sculptor Tait McKenzie, one of the many Italian sculptors in Barre, Vermont, or someone else entirely.
Sadly, only four of the five founders of the Cenotaph Committee would live to see the monument unveiled—just over six months before it was dedicated, Ezra Countryman died of heart failure on Christmas morning. Two other founders, Allan Smirle and Hector Carruthers, remained members of the committee for decades until their deaths in 1961 and 1972, respectively. Both men witnessed some of the changes that the memorial underwent.
This $70,000 project consisted of a variety of tasks, including cleaning the monument; straightening and re-securing the original brass tablet; replacing the existing flagpole; widening the stone pathway to increase accessibility; burying the wiring from lights used to illuminate the memorial; and adding a name plate for Maurice Cheney, a WWI soldier who was not included on the original monument. The biggest task, however, was erecting 21 black granite monuments around the original cenotaph (10 to the east, 10 to the west, and one to the north). Each marker measures 10 inches square and 40 inches high.
The last black monument stands as a tribute to all those who returned home but later died of physical and mental wounds sustained during wartime. Funding for the project came from two main sources: Veterans Affairs Canada ($25,000) and community donations ($45,000). Some of the community contributions included $6,000 from the Township of North Dundas; $5,000 each from the Morewood Recreation Association and Guildcrest Homes; seven donations by individuals of $1,000 each; and about $9,000 in goods and services. The remaining funds were gathered through smaller individual donations and fundraising efforts, including an online auction, take-out dinner, and book and seed sales. The Chesterville and District Historical Society also commissioned a painting of the monument by local artist Gordon Coulthart in 2018 titled A Fallen Leaf. Money made from the sale of prints went to the Cenotaph Committee. The original now hangs in the Morewood Recreation Centre. The rededication of the revitalized cenotaph and these new monuments was originally planned for the centennial in 2021, but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Committee felt that the community deserved to be involved in the ceremony, so they decided to wait until it was safe for people to gather once again. It was worth the wait—seeing the community join together to mark this occasion was wonderful. Held during Morewood's Meet Me on Main Street event, the rededication attracted a good-sized crowd. It began with the sound of bagpipes. Military Major Savio Fernandes and members from CFS Letrium marched west along County Road 13 toward the monument, coming to stand on Mill Street.
Pastor Debbie Poirier of the United Church said a short prayer, then retired Col. Bill Shearing of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders provided some history about the unit, formerly known as the 154th Battalion CEF, based in Cornwall. Eight of the soldiers commemorated on the cenotaph were at some point attached to the 154th Batt. (WWI) or the SDG Highlanders (WWII). Warrant officer Justin Delorme and Lt.-Col. Roy Clarke of the Highlanders laid a wreath at the base of the monument. The ceremony ended with the singing of "God Save the Queen" by Shelly Hutt. Congratulations to the Morewood Cenotaph Committee on a job well done! Many thanks to the local community for supporting this fantastic project and helping to preserve history and the memory of these soldiers. It's efforts like these that ensure that "Their Name Liveth For Evermore". Names on the Morewood Cenotaph
1 Comment
|
CDHS publishes articles about interesting photos, artifacts, people, events, buildings, etc. that relate to the history of Chesterville and District. If there is something that you would like to see, email us at [email protected]
Archives
August 2023
Categories
All
|