PEIIslanders gathered at a church in Hunter River this weekend for a service honouring veterans ahead of Remembrance Day.’We’re a free society here and we shouldn’t be taking it for granted’Jenna Banfield · CBC News · Posted: Nov 09, 2025 5:18 PM EST | Last Updated: 3 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 2 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.A Remembrance Day service took place at the Central Queens United Church on Sunday. It included a display of white crosses with poppies and names of veterans from the area. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)Islanders gathered at a church in Hunter River this weekend for a service honouring veterans ahead of Remembrance Day.The service at Central Queens United Church included some help from Sunday school kids. They placed white crosses, each representing a veteran from the area, into the ground.The crosses have names of the veterans they are honouring, along with a red poppy in the middle.”We’re kind of remembering people who’ve passed away from the army,” says Jayde Doucette, one of the kids helping with the display. “The poppies are kind of like a symbol for remembrance.”Some veterans were also in attendance at the ceremony, such as Verner Smitheram, who says he has reasons within his own family to consider Remembrance Day’s importance.Verner Smitheram is a veteran. He had family serve in the First and Second World Wars. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)”As far back as the First World War, two grand-uncles in our family perished,” he said.”In the Second World War, my dad was wounded and we had another uncle who was killed and one who was damaged in terms of emotional … following the war.”Smitheram says it’s meaningful to him to see children participating in Remembrance Day activities, as it means the tradition continues.”I will be thinking about my father’s situation and how he suffered but recovered,” he said. “I remember the days when he returned from service and how special that was.”Educating future generationsBernie Dykerman, a clerk of session at the church, says the project started about 10 years ago. More names and crosses are added each year.”We were looking to educate our young kids about things that have happened in the past so that we don’t have them again in the future,” he said.Bernie Dykerman says it’s important for future generations to learn that some freedoms should not be taken for granted. (Delaney Kelly/CBC)That importance stood out to Dykerman during the church service, which felt different to him this year due to ongoing turmoil in the world.”These kids are out here today, driving crosses into the ground only because of what the soldiers did in the past. We’re a free society here and we shouldn’t be taking it for granted.”ABOUT THE AUTHORJenna Banfield is an associate producer for CBC Prince Edward Island. She can be reached at jenna.banfield@cbc.caWith files from Delaney Kelly
Hunter River church service honours veterans ahead of Remembrance Day
