ESTEVAN - For the second year, Estevan students, led by administration and law enforcement representatives, partook in the No Stone Left Alone project.
Last Thursday, Grade 7-8 students from Sacred Heart School//École Sacré Coeur, as well as several students from Spruce Ridge and a few from the Estevan Comprehensive School, came to the Souris Valley Memorial Gardens to participate in a ceremony commemorating all those who served their country.
"Things went really well, the kids were really involved. I think the ceremony just went off really well," said Elyse Mantei, who put the Estevan event together.
She started working on the big project in May, organizing everybody and everything that needs to be done to have a meaningful ceremony. She said one of the teachers from Sacred Heart School helped a lot during the planning process.
On the day of the event, about 65 students and several school staff came to the cemetery. Estevan Mayor Roy Ludwig, Souris-Moose Mountain MP Robert Kitchen, South East Military Museums founder Craig Bird and members of the Estevan RCMP and Estevan Police Service also partook in the gathering at the cemetery.
"We had a few speeches done. Some of the students read a few poems about Remembrance Day and veterans. And then we had a flypast from the jets out of the Moose Jaw military base, flying over top. And then we did poppy laying on the veterans' graves," Mantei said.
She talked to the schools ahead of time, and also explained to the students what would be happening in more detail before the ceremony.
"They seem to really take in everything that was going on," Mantei said.
As it was the second year for the project in Estevan, the ceremonies attracted more attention and saw higher participation. Besides, unlike last year students were able to come to the cemetery at the same time, and some could come by bus.
"It was more of a ceremony because we were able to come together, more than just small groups at a time. So we were able to do one big ceremony instead of a few small ones. And then we were also able to get the jets," Mantei said.
Mantei was able to arrange the flyover with John Wilkinson, who is the regional co-ordinator of No Stone Left Alone and Mantei's father. He also works out of the base in Moose Jaw, and they try to do a fly pass for all ceremonies in Saskatchewan on the day that they're done. On Thursday, Estevan was the only community to hold No Stone Left Alone, so the planes came over this way for it.
The initiative came to Estevan last year to create awareness among school students about those who served their country. It was brought to Estevan by Mantei.
"My dad is a veteran. He served in the military for 40 years, he is a big part of the military. So it was a big part of my life growing up. My grandpa served in the military. I have two grandpas that served in the military. So the military has always been a huge part of my life, and (the project) is really close to my heart … I would like the kids to know all about the veterans and all the sacrifices they all did for us," Mantei explained.
"And Remembrance Day was starting to get forgotten a little bit. So, this program was brought up and it's helping to bring Remembrance Day back to the students and for everybody to just take a second to remember that what they have right now is in big part due to what they did for us years ago."
Since it was launched, the No Stone Left Alone project has taken off well in Saskatchewan with students in different communities attending local cemeteries for a ceremony that includes music, poetry, a moment of silence, and the laying of a wreath and poppies. Currently, there are 10 communities listed on the No Stone Left Alone Saskatchewan website as active participants of the project.
"It's grown quite big in Saskatchewan now. It actually started I believe it was in Edmonton, and it spread across to just about every province in Canada now," Mantei said. "I love being part of it. I'm so glad that I was able to bring it to Estevan."
