The two army helmets and empty 50-millmetre mortar casing Nolan Peake brought to his Heritage Fair project serve as reminders of what his great-grandfather went through as an infantryman in the Second World War.
He was willing to go overseas to fight in the war, and despite being wounded in combat, returned to Canada to raise a family. For that, his great-grandson is thankful. Peake, a Grade 6 student at Foothills elementary school, expressed his gratitude in a short video he made after being declared a regional winner in Heritage Canada's Young Citizens contest.
Peake and two Fraser Lake secondary school Grade 9 students -- Emily Lindstrom and Rylan Tsuji -- were picked as finalists from the Prince George regional fair in May. They are part of a group of 200 regional winners across Canada trying to gather enough online votes to make it into the top six and win a free trip to Ottawa in November to attend the Governor-General's History Awards and National History Forum.
"The most interesting thing that I learned about my topic was that if Canadians did not go to war we would not have the freedoms we have today," said the 12-year-old Peake. "We have a lot more freedoms than other countries.
"I've always been interested in World War II and I just wanted to look into the facts and I don't want people to forget World War II. If people forget, it could happen again, and this time it could actually destroy the whole world."
Lindstrom's project delved into her family history and how her great-grandmother Gertrude Kurz (now 94) came over to Canada from Germany in 1956 with her husband Fritz and nine-year-old son (Emily's grandfather Gary Kurz), enduring a rough Atlantic crossing on board a small passenger ship. During the war, the family home was bombed and was destroyed, but Gertrude managed to retrieve a silver spoon, which survived the flames intact. She holds the spoon in Emily's video as she describes details of her life.
"I learned they worked really hard for what they have now -- they've got this house on the lake and they're really happy, but they went through lots of hardships and trouble to get that," said Lindstrom, who spent 10 days recording and editing her video project.
"They brought a big crate from Germany and my great-grandfather packed it full of books instead of china and kitchenware and my great-grandmother was really angry at him."
Tsuji tackled the difficult subject of Indian residential schools and the abuse students of those schools were subjected to around the province. His grandfather in Fraser Lake, Robert Nelson,attended a residential school in Port Alberni for seven years, and the video focuses on Nelson as he describes his experiences.
"He still carries the scars from that terrible time in his life," said Tsuji. "Listening to my grandpa, and how he had it, and comparing that with how kids have it today, we have it easy. Us kids have everything.
"If you look at the education system, our teachers are trying to help you excel, help you go through high school. His teachers told them they couldn't do anything with their lives. What those teachers did to the kids brought tears to my eyes. He has seven or eight brothers and sisters and they didn't let them go to school together. He didn't see his brothers or sisters or his mom for seven years."
Tsuji found several other elders who attended the residential school in Lejac, near Fraser Lake, who were willing to be interviewed for his Young Citizens project, but was under the impression the videos had to be no more than four minutes long and was unable to include them. He was frustrated to learn later on some of student videos he's competing against are eight minutes long.
"I could have gone for 20 minutes if I'd been allowed to," Tsuji said. "But I'd rather do the video of my grandpa. He's my idol, he teaches me everything. He's the one I talk to for advice."
As regional finalists, Peake, Lindstrom and Tsuji won a trip to Vancouver for the Canada Day celebration and will be part of a parade through downtown Vancouver next Sunday.
Because the national contest will be determined by online voting, Peake, who lives in rural Miworth, is doing what he can to get people to click beside his name.
"I've got my class to go on and vote and I'm trying to get my whole school to vote," he said. "I'm going to get on my bike and ask the whole community to vote for me. I'll make a poster for the board where people pick up their mail."
To vote, go to www.canadashistory.ca/Kids/Heritage/Profiles/Prince-George-Regional-Heritage-Fair. Voting will continue until Aug. 7, hen judges will narrow the field to 30 before selecting the six national winners.
