Poppies are blooming all over the city.
Friday was the first day of the annual Royal Canadian Legion poppy campaign. Its dual purpose is to raise funds for the veterans' support agency and raise awareness in the public about the perils of war and the need to support those who do serve in uniform on the nation's behalf.
"Today we place the first poppy of the year, and every day until Nov. 10 we will have volunteers spread across the city distributing the poppies," said Legion zone commander John Scott said.
"It all goes in support of local veterans and their families, and particular projects that stand to benefit local veterans as well as all who serve, like Winch House in Vancouver [a residence for veterans obtaining physical or mental therapy]."
Each year in Prince George about 70,000 poppies are distributed, bringing in about $70,000.
"We are happy if you can just provide an hour, there is no minimum, we just encourage anyone who can to join us," said Loreen Bridges, president of the Legion's Ladies' Auxiliary, a major organizing force for the volunteer campaign to sell the poppies.
"It can be a struggle to get volunteers. A lot of our veterans are dying off or don't have the physical ability to do the volunteering, so we need other supporters to come help."
She has hopes for the future involvement of the upstart Rocky Mountain Rangers army reserves, but their members are few so far.
With a whole new wave of young veterans from the Afghanistan war, there will certainly be new warmth injected into the Legion nationwide, she said, but that won't be an instant effect.
The poppies - a symbol transplanted from the front lines of the First World War and memorialized in the poem "In Flanders Fields" - are on grandest display on Nov. 11 at Remembrance Day ceremonies across Canada and around the world. In Prince George, the events begin at 9 a.m. at the Civic Centre, moving to the City Hall cenotaph at 11 a.m.
"I think the war in Afghanistan has brought a lot of new thinking to Remembrance Day," said Scott.
"There has been a real buildup in attendance. It had fallen off so we were lucky to get a few hundred people out in Prince George, but Afghanistan has brought the younger generations closer to the Legion and to the themes of Remembrance Day, and we've been getting a couple of thousand people coming in recent years to pay tribute."
