Millbrook’s Cenotaph
My introduction to the Gravenhurst Cenotaph was as a member of the Junior Band following WWII.
The weather was usually cold, even snowing. The date was, and is, traditional: the 11th hour of the 11th day, of the 11th month, that marked the Armistice when WW l ended.
My memories are still linked to the times when the valves on my musical instruments would stick and freeze. Somehow the band would stagger through the same hymns: “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” “Abide with Me,” and “Unto the Hills Around Do I Lift Up My Longing Eyes.”
My earliest memories with the band puzzled me. Why were so many people who weren’t band members there? Gradually I realized that for many citizens, the Cenotaph was a central gathering place in the community for families or friends of victims of war. This realization made it obvious to me why the Cenotaph was placed in the middle of our community and others across the country. They are stately sentinels paying tribute to Canadians who served and who continue to serve.
Fast forward 50 years to the time the Millbrook Legion asked me to be their Padre……That responsibility has led me to a deeper understanding of the workings in the Legion that occur around and beyond the Cenotaph.
Everybody sees the stern looking military men and women who parade to and from the Cenotaph on Remembrance Day. In addition to the annual Remembrance ceremony at the Cenotaph, there are church parades, banquets, baptisms, marriages, funerals, and other appropriate events. As their Padre, I am provided with a glimpse behind the scenes.
Some get-togethers I remember were solemn and sad as we “toasted the fallen comrade.” Others were hilarious, like the day the piper lost his kilt. He hasn’t reappeared since, which is too bad. It was a great ride with the piper.
Some stories have become local legends: like when the Millbrook jail was operational and many of the guards were Legion members. The story goes that some hungry guards sent one of their number to pick up some snacks at the legion. The pickup from the kitchen was successful, but during the escape who should appear but a superior officer. What to do with the stolen sausages? Why, stick them under your cap! If the story had stopped there, we wouldn’t have anything to laugh about. However the officer became suspicious and stalled the young guard. Gradually, something oily started oozing from under the cap and down the guard’s face. The jig was up!
Another tale that emerged during a funeral eulogy that covered many stages of a comrade’s military career including some of his life after discharge from Korea. He became a chef and a limousine driver in Alberta. That’s where he became very famous. His limo collided with another limo. But when he looked out he wasn’t sure what planet he was on. Out of the second limo crawled four creatures he claimed were eight feet tall. He had just met “Kiss” in full makeup by accident. If you haven’t met them, ask a young person.
Some stories last longer than others. My romance with the Legion began on a chilly November morning in Gravenhurst at the local Cenotaph, and continues to unfold.
By Rev. John Sloan
