Candlelight vigil held at Cobalt Veterans Cemetery
A group of volunteers in Cobalt, Ont. held their second annual candlelight vigil to pay respects to veterans buried at the Cobalt Veterans Cemetery.
Inspired by similar vigils in the Netherlands, around 200 solar-powered lights were placed at each gravestone that could be identified.
A service was held, featuring a performance by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 44’s pipe band.
“When they were lit up, it was just very, very emotional for all of us. It’s absolutely spectacular,” said Susan White, one of the vigil’s organizers.
“Last night, for Remembrance Day, we had a little service at the cemetery. There were about 50 people there. Chris Kos went officiated, I sang, the papers were there. It was just, it was just a nice get together and just one we were all very honoured to honour our veterans in that way.”In addition to traditional ceremonial tribute candles over 200 solar-powered lights were placed across Cobalt Veterans Cemetery for the vigil to ensure each identifiable name on the gravestones could be read. (Photo courtesy of Ken Riley)Organizers told CTV News they hope to grow the event each year and are leaving the candles out tonight for people to visit.
They are also collecting donations to help the local legion branch with upkeep of the cemetery, which it has operated since the 1940s.
“My dad is there and he’s a vet. I have four uncles there, who are vets and so, that’s basically why I started it. Also, the profits go back toward the perpetual care of the cemetery,” said the vigil’s founder Ken Riley.
Riley is a war historian, who researched about 50 unidentified veterans buried in the cemetery, to ensure they were properly acknowledged and could receive a candlelight.
Organizers said other legion branches have already reached out to look into holding their own vigils in the future.
For more information on the vigil and the legion’s work with the veterans cemetery, visit their Facebook page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit natural gas levies to the federal government, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
'We hoped for this day, but we were scared that it would not never ever come because it took so long.' That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.
North Bay doctor accused of assaulting patient, threatening another
A North Bay doctor is facing charges after allegedly assaulting a patient with a weapon and threatening another person at the hospital, police say.