"REMEMBRANCE" CROSSWALK ON TIME FOR REMEMBRANCE DAY

Coldwater has a newly painted crosswalk on Coldwater Road at the corner of Mill St., in front of the library.  The graphics – silhouettes of First World War soldiers - and details are stunning.  At each end of the crosswalk one can read the words "Lest We Forget".

The project, which was approved during a Severn Township Council meeting on September 4, 2025, was spearheaded by the Coldwater Branch of the Royal Canadian Legion through the efforts of Branch member Debbie Southorn.  In a letter addressed to the council, Legion officials recalled that more than 200 young men [and two women] from the Coldwater area enlisted in the First World War. At least 24 never returned.  Their names are etched on the nearby cenotaph in the heart of the community.  Among them were Gordon Beckett, killed at Courcelette in 1916; Andrew Durnford, who died at Vimy Ridge in 1917; and George Beach, who fell at Passchendaele. The letter also remembered six Coldwater servicemen killed during the Second World War, including Manley Brechin, Harry Leatherdale, and Ross Johnstone.  These men were farmers, clerks, lumberjacks, and labourers, the Legion wrote. They left their families and their livelihoods to serve.

 “I think [the Remembrance crosswalk] it’s a good way to respect and value what our veterans did,” Deputy Mayor Judith Cox said. “My dad was a veteran. We probably all have relatives who were veterans, or sons and daughters serving today. This is a great way to honour them and to make sure the memory of their service lives on in our community.”

Thank you to Debbie Southorn for spearheading this for the branch; to Deputy-Mayor Judith Cox and the Township of Severn for their support and generous donation; James and Heidi Buchanan for their painting donation; Creechers Design for the artwork; and Sunbelt Rentals for traffic control signs. Thank you all for a beautiful "Remembrance Crosswalk". (Photo courtesy of Holmes on Drones, Aerial Photography & Videography)