In a matter of days, the Langford community has successfully rallied together to install a new permanent ‘veterans crossing’ on Station Avenue, honouring local war heroes.
Inspired by a similar project in Hamilton, Ont., Dianna Seaton, with the support of former mayor Stew Young and Langford’s Royal Legion president Norm Scott, put out a call to the community at the end of October asking for help to raise the $8,000 needed for the work.
“Let’s get it done,” said Seaton at the time. And get it done they did, with work to install the crossing kicking off days after the appeal's launch.
“We’ve raised about $7,000 and the money is still coming in,” said Young. “All the sponsors and all the people that put their money in said, ‘Hey, we’ve got to show this is how we do it in Langford, we get stuff done.”
“This is Langford,” added Seaton. “We don’t mess around."
Joining forces with the City of Langford, construction workers and a team of volunteers installed the new crossing outside Langford’s Legion on Station Avenue.
The permanent memorial is painted red and white, with the black shadow of a soldier, above the motto, ‘Lest we forget’.
“This is what the legion's all about,” said Scott. “We have to remember what we have been, and what we are today.”
“The veterans, they deserve this,” added Young. “They’ve done so much for our community.”
Any excess funds raised by the crossing project will be given to the poppy campaign.
“Hopefully this brings a little bit of momentum to the poppy campaign, and will get more people donating,” said Seaton.
