Memorial Avenue is dedicated to those who served and those who died in the First and Second World Wars. On November 11, 1995, plaques were placed in the sidewalk at the bases of 13 maple trees on Memorial Avenue. The dedication was made by Acting Mayor Orlan Rye and Wilma Stevens, President of Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76.
The 13 honoured are:
A.W. Field
G. Jones, DCM
F. Long
J. Osborne
W.J. Rankin
C.P. Davidson
A.R. Playfair
H.V.C. Hall
G. Lake
J. Middlemiss
W. Parker
A. Honeybun
I.C. MacLaine
In 1918, Canadians turned to the duty of commemorating the dead. Some promoted practical memorials like Roads of Remembrance. These linear tree-lined avenues had trees that were typically a single species, regularly spaced along each side of the avenue that would grow tall and stately. American elms were chosen for many of these avenues. A small plaque was used to assign a particular tree to a specific fallen soldier. In some cases, the next-of-kin was involved in purchasing the tree and/or plaque for the deceased soldier.
Roads of Remembrance were based on two symbol-laden images. The first was France’s tree-lined country avenues: “long straight roads, with large elms on either side, beautiful and useful, and loved by the Canadians overseas.” The second symbol was a living memorial: trees represented the victory of life over death. Memorial trees became living symbols of the sacrifices made overseas.
