Friday marks the 1st day to wear your poppy

There may be almost two weeks until Remembrance Day, but Friday is, traditionally, the day to pin on a poppy.
 
Cherilyn Cooke is the provincial director of Saskatchewan command for the Royal Canadian Legion. She said the poppy is a vital tradition.
 
“We all know somebody who’s been involved in some sort of conflict. Every Nov. 11, it’s the opportunity to wear that poppy and remember the sacrifices of those people.”
 
Lieutenant General Vaughn Soloman Schofield received the ceremonial first poppy on Tuesday at Government House.
 
Soloman Schofield is asking people to wear a poppy in honour of a specific person this year.
 
“Whether it be somebody that means something to them, from their past or a family member, or somebody from our history that they’ve read about and are familiar with.”
 
Soloman Schofield explained she is wearing her poppy for Dennis Chisholm.
 
“(He) was a family friend my entire life. He was deputy chief of the Regina Police Service, but a long-serving member of the Royal Regina Rifles. He passed away this year. He was in the Second World War, and was a true hero to lots of people.”
 
Cooke said her poppy is for friends she lost while serving in the Canadian Forces.
 
“I think you’ll find, for any member of the military, Remembrance Day is a very personal day for us, in that we’ve all encountered tragedies throughout our time.”
 
All money collected from the poppies goes directly into the legion’s poppy fund, which Cooke said is used to support veterans.
 
“Whether that be immediate financial assistance for a homeless veteran, or a program from a veteran who’s dealing with PTSD, or, as I said, the cause of remembrance, such as the repair of cenotaphs.”
 
There will be Remembrance Day ceremonies in Regina on Nov. 11 at the Brandt Centre and at the cenotaph in Victoria Park.