THUNDER BAY - All that remains of countless men and women who served Canada in conflicts around the world are their names on headstones. Local students are making sure that the names of those lost will always be remembered.
Grade 7 and 8 Students from Woodcrest Public School spent Wednesday afternoon at Riverside Cemetery cleaning the headstones of men and women who served in the First and Second World Wars.
The initiative was first started by Westmount Public School five years ago. Jon Kibzey, grade 7 and 8 teacher at Woodcrest, said the school has been working with the Royal Canadian Legion to continue the project.
“This is our first time,” Kibzey said. “The students were tremendously excited about the opportunity. Not only to learn a little bit more and make those connections, but also to give back to the community in their own unique way. It’s going to be the start of an annual tradition that we want to do at Woodcrest.”
More than 60 students used small brushes and water to clean away moss and dirt from the headstones so all the names from the past can still be seen.
“There are a lot of graves here that are upwards of 100 years old in some cases and for a lot of our students, to simply read in a textbook about contributions that Canadians have made is a great starting point, but I think this gives them a real hands on opportunity to learn so much more about local names and people who have fought to give them what they have today,” Kibzey said.
Kibzey added that Roy Lamore, a Second World War navy veteran, has been very passionate about the project for years and he was extremely excited to see it continue.
More than 20 parents also participated in the project, including Kibzey’s own father and mother, Bill and Heather Kibzey.
“It gives them some contact to the past,” Bill Kizbey said of the project. “I’m proud to see my son involved in doing this and my grandson.”
Jackson Kibzey, Jon Kizbey’s son and a grade 8 student at Woodcrest, said he was very happy to see his fellow students working on such a great project.
“I’m glad everybody is happily participating and helping,” he said. "It’s great that everybody wants to help and make a change for the better. We get to discover more about the past and not make the same mistakes again.”
Grade 8 students, Brandon Doner and Hope Norton, were working on cleaning the headstone for Gilbert Thomas Brown who served with the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War.
“I think this is really great because we are honouring the veterans that fought for us and it’s a great thing that we are doing for them to give back for how they gave to us,” Doner said.
“I think it’s really great for us to come and do this,” Norton added. “They did fight for us and it’s what they did that made Canada so great today.”
Gilbert Thomas Brown survived the war and lived to the age of 76. But all Doner and Norton and their fellow classmates have to do is look amongst the many other headstones at Riverside to see the many young men and women who died serving their country.
“It’s sad to see that these people died so young but also that they fought for their country,” Norton said.
“It’s sad seeing how young they were when they died in Battle,” Doner added. “It also makes me appreciate them more because they went off to battle for us.”
