By Thursday's end of the day, approximately 750 students will have visited the Orillia Public Library's award-winning Remembrance Day event.
Community Services Coordinator Jayne Turvey began this project in 2014.
"We partner with several military museums, and they all bring artifacts, and their interpreters come dressed in World War One uniforms or World War Two nursing sisters' outfits," says Turvey. "Our military collectors come dressed in period costumes, so we put out displays that people can relate to."
Some of the memorabilia date back to 1867, and there is a special display honouring the 80th anniversary of the Dieppe raid.
Over the years, the event has become more interactive.
"I wanted to create something that each student could take home with them," says Turvey. "I managed to find my grandfather's playbook that he had as a soldier in World War One, and it was in pristine condition, and he was also in World War Two and did not use his playbook very much. I scanned the cover and inside I created questions that go with the exhibits."
The students walk around and answer questions in the book. Kids that participate can enter their name and that of their school in a ballot box for prizes.
Turvey says she is witness to the fact the displays hit home.
"We have had students come back in the evening because they wanted to show their parents, and they have been telling their parents the stories they've learned, like the hockey players from World War One who were local, or a certain man who is displayed on the poster boards and did amazing things during the war. It makes me really happy to know what we're doing here to pass that torch to the next generation has worked."
Schools from the Orillia area bring students from Grades 5 to 10 to see the displays.
"It's very important to me," says Turvey. "My father and I wrote a book about his experiences being captured in the Dieppe raid in 1942 and becoming a prisoner of war for nearly three years."
About three years ago, Turvey created a project to look for a photo and bio for every single man that landed on the beach with her dad from the Royal Regiment of Canada.
"It has been incredible," notes Turvey. "I have found just about all of their pictures, and that's 544 men, and I've been finding family members who I can tell what their family members went through because most of these men that did come back didn't talk about it.
For Turvey, the displays are a labour of love and remembrance.
The library will be closed Friday for Remembrance Day, but the displays will be available for the public to see on Saturday, Nov. 12.
More information at: https://bit.ly/3fM0aw
Banner image: Jayne Turvey - Facebook
