Pinning poppies on the lapels of local officials today got an Okotoks veteran thinking about her great uncle who served a century ago in the First World War. “When Uncle Jim came back he never spoke of the war,” Maureen Haberstock, chair of the Okotoks Legion poppy campaign, told delegates at Okotoks’ poppy campaign kick-off on Oct. 24. “No one knew what he did in the war until we got his medals after he died.” Haberstock paid tribute to Cpl. James Flynn during a 30-minute ceremony in the Okotoks council chambers at 9 a.m. to kick off the Okotoks Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion poppy campaign, which runs Oct. 26 to Nov. 11. “I remember meeting him as a child,” Haberstock said of her great uncle. “He was a gentle soul. He always had a candy in his pocket.” Haberstock said it wasn’t until her great uncle died in his 80s that her family learned he fought with the Scottish regiment, serving in the trenches for four years. He received a medal of bravery in the field and he never missed a Nov. 11 parade for as long as he was physically able to attend. “He was a victim of the first gas attack, which resulted in a lung condition,” she said. About 20 Okotoks men left the community in 1914 to fight in the First World War, dubbed the war to end all wars, said Haberstock. “In World War One just about every male that could go went,” she said. “They went to strange places and did awful things. We will remember them.” This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War. At Wednesday’s ceremony, Haberstock pinned poppies on Highwood MLA Wayne Anderson and Okotoks Mayor Bill Robertson, which followed the pinning of the Governor General at the federal level and lieutenant governor and premier Rachel Notley at the provincial level earlier this month. More than 300 poppy boxes will be distributed among businesses. Tables will be set up at Costco, Safeway, Walmart, Home Depot, Sobeys and Save-On-Foods and manned by legion members and local cadet and Girl Guides troops. Last year’s poppy campaign raised about $77,000, which went into a trust fund to support local veterans and their families in and around Okotoks, said Haberstock. In addition, about $15,000 went towards renovations for Okotoks Urgent Care, $16,000 to the Foothills Country Hospice to purchase a bed and $10,000 to the Military Family Resource Centre in Calgary that provides housing to veterans requiring medical care in the city. Haberstock said plans for this year’s contributions include further developing the monument wall on Veterans Way, supporting the University of Alberta’s medical research on military medical issues like PTSD and blast injuries, high school scholarships and bursaries and prizes for winners of the local poster and literary contest. The Okotoks Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion was established four years ago and consists of 160 members, about 40 per cent of who are ex-military.
