Alexis Galambos was struck by a sense of loss as she reached into a brown paper bag and placed a poppy on a veteran’s headstone at a Humboldt, Sask., cemetery.
During the city’s first No Stone Left Alone ceremony, she and her Grade 7 classmates from Humboldt Public School also read out the names of Canadians who paid the ultimate sacrifice.
“We are supporting the people who had to go through the losses of their loved ones and the ones that they cared for,” Galambos said on Monday.
No Stone Left Alone is an educational campaign designed to remember men and women who served in the Canadian Armed Forces. Students study Canada’s war effort leading up to Nov. 4 when they put poppies on the headstones of those who served.
The non-profit launched in 2011 and has spread from Edmonton to communities in every province and territory.
In 2019, Saskatchewan also hosted ceremonies in Saskatoon, Regina, Lloydminster, Moose Jaw and Dundurn. Weyburn and Estevan could hold ceremonies next year as well.
No Stone Left Alone representative John Wilkinson spent 40 years in the Canadian Forces. He said the main goal is to ensure children stay engaged in remembrance.
“This brings students out to the headstones to show them the sacrifice from the Canadian Forces,” Wilkinson said.
Wilkinson said at one point, student involvement with Remembrance Day ceremonies was on the decline, but he’s encouraged by No Stone’s growth.
Rev. Al Hingley of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 28 said it was rewarding and humbling to see Humboldt’s young people join the effort.
“They are experiencing it. They are making a commitment and that’s most important and that will stay with them,” Hingley said.
Global Television will air a special half-hour presentation on Nov. 11, which looks at how No Stone Left Alone affects people and communities in Canada. In Saskatchewan, it will air at 11 a.m.