ELORA – Passersby will see thousands of knitted poppies cascading from the windows of the St. John Anglican Church steeple over the next couple weeks.
Members of the church gathered on Oct. 24 to hoist the poppies up the walls of the church, where they will remain until Nov. 14.
The community initiative, titled the Poppy Project, is intended to commemorate the poppy, which was officially adopted as a symbol for Remembrance Day 100 years ago.
“Particularly, it’s significant during COVID when we cannot gather in Cenotaphs in large numbers in public so this is a way for people to participate in something tangible as an expression of their remembrance and their commitment to peace,” St. John Anglican Church reverend Paul Walker said of the project.
Over 100 people have participated in what started out as a small community initiative through a local church group.
The church, located at 36 Henderson St. in Elora, hosts a knitters and quilters club that meets weekly and it was during one of its weekly Zoom meetings that members formed the plan.
In order to see the project through, the church received approval from the Elora Legion, the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command, the National Poppy Campaign coordinator and Veterans Affairs Canada.
The vision for the project was to attach more than a thousand knitted or crocheted poppies to netting and drape it from the steeple of the church in a display for Remembrance Day.
Having originally aimed for 1,500 poppies, knitting club member Pam Gradwell said they’ve been very pleased with how the project turned out, adding they’ve received over 7,200 poppies as of the Oct. 24 date.
Walker said the church modestly proposed the initial request for 1,500 poppies but they just kept coming, even from as far away as Australia.
“Someone who used to live here read about it on the Wellington Advertiser online and said ‘I’m going to make some poppies and mail them to us,’” he explained. “It’s astonishing.”
And they’re still coming, he said. Even on the morning of the installation (Oct. 24) the church was still receiving deliveries of poppies.
Walker said the church has been overwhelmed with the success of the project, adding its far exceeded their expectations.
“We’ve never done it before so we’re kind of making it up as we go along with a concept in mind of how it’s all going to work,” Walker said of the installation. “But then you actually do it and sort of revamp.
“It’s been pretty smooth,” he noted, adding “it’s a team effort. We had a sort of conceptual idea of how it would work, and I think it’s working out quite well.”
The church, located at 36 Henderson St. in Elora, has attached more than a thousand knitted and crocheted poppies to netting and draped it from the steeple of the church in a display for Remembrance Day. Photo by Paige Peacock
When asked what the church plans to do with the new abundance of knitted poppies, Walker confirmed the church will be displaying the poppies again next year and plans to continue using them in years to come.
“They’re all-weather poppies so they will survive sun, rain, sleet and snow,” he explained, adding he hopes more places will participate next year.
“My hope is – you know how Elora has a Monster Month in October – wouldn’t it be wonderful if all of Elora participated in poppy month in November?” Walker asked. “All sorts of buildings could be covered in poppies.”
Walker added since the church has received so many poppies they’ve put together banners, which they’re calling garlands, and distributed them to places around the community.
Garlands can already be seen on display at Dars Country Market, Geddes Street Market, Heritage River Retirement Residence and St. John’s-Kilmarnock School.
Walker explained with the pandemic and not being able to gather in public as much as people are accustomed to, the project acts as a way of connecting the community on Remembrance Day.
A way to connect
“For the second year we cannot gather around cenotaphs on Remembrance Day in public and in large numbers. This has been a way for people to connect from their homes, knowing they’re participating in a community project and initiative that brings people together.
“And it’s been really powerful for people that way and its initiated and prompted stories of their own connections to the war of family members, grandparents, parents who have been involved and, in some cases, came back with significant injuries or even lost their lives.
“This connects them to that as well.”
