The following talk was written and delivered by William Day at the Hedley Remembrance Day ceremony November 11, 2019.

War and Remembrance

Warm thanks to Jennifer Douglass and Andy English of Hedley, whose research into our Hedley Boys of World Wars 1 & 2 has provided a wealth of information for us. I also thank Wade Davis of UBC who has done deep research into the Great Wars of the 20th century. These people have made this presentation possible.

Winston Churchill called the period 1914 to 1945 the Thirty Years War. Clearly, the 20th century was the most destructive of lives in world history. Millions upon millions of lives were lost and ruined. Despite the references to World Wars One and Two, it was a single spasm of destruction whose impacts we continue to feel and with which we struggle today.

At the outbreak of the conflict in August of 1914 a man had to stand 5’8” to enter the British army. Within two months boys 5’3” were eagerly recruited. In eight weeks the British Expeditionary Force, four divisions – about 100,000 men – that represented the entire home army of the British Empire, had been virtually annihilated in the first industrialized slaughter in human history.

The Hedley Boys, seventeen of our own men – mostly very young – died while on service in WW 1&2. Killed in Action: 10; Died of Wounds: 5; Died on Service: 2. Hedley men were sought after – a population of young, fit men who were familiar with underground work, heavy machinery and explosives.

Most Canadian lives were lost in the Ypres Salient in Belgium during World War One. This was a section of the battlefield surrounded on three sides by German forces. It measured only four miles by twelve – roughly the land valley area between Hedley and Princeton. In that cauldron of warfare 1.7 million boys and men would die in 1915 /16 and 1918. The Canadians became famous for their holding of the Allied lines near Ypres under the first gas attacks even as allied forces on all sides panicked and fled the field. They became the shock troops of the British Empire for the remainder of the war.

The horrors of the warfare near Ypres are difficult to comprehend. The corpses of over 90,000 British and Canadian dead at Passchendaele were recovered too severely mutilated to be identified. An additional forty-two thousand disappeared without a trace.

By the spring of 1918 the greatest security challenge for the Allied command was concealing the location of the Canadian Corps, whose presence at any sector of the Front implied to the Germans an imminent major assault.

The truth lay in the numbers. World War One yielded nearly a million dead in Britain and the Dominions alone, some 2.5 million wounded, 40,000 amputees, 60,000 without sight, 2.4 million on disability a decade after the end, including 65,000 men who never recovered from the “twilight memory of hell” that was shell shock. And the Great War of 1914/18 was just the precursor to the Second World War of 1939/45. This conflict killed and wounded double those numbers plus an equivalent toll in civilian lives.

In May 1915 following the death of young officer and friend Alexis Helmer, Canadian army surgeon Dr. John McCrae wrote the fifteen lines of the poem – In Flanders Fields – that, more than any other, would distill the anguish of 1915, a time when there still remained hope that the conflict ultimately would have some redemptive meaning. He chose as a symbol of remembrance a delicate flower, quite unaware of the cruel irony that poppies only flourished in the fields of Flanders because constant shelling and rivers of blood had transformed the chemistry of the soil. “In Flanders Fields” survived the war and is the most remembered evocation of the conflict. Like so many others, McCrae did not. He died of pneumonia at Wimereux, France on 28 January 1918.

In Flanders Fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place, and in the sky
The larks still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard among the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow
Loved and were loved and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Hedley was designated in 1919 as either the very first or one of the very first Canadian communities to formally create a memorial for people who served in the armed services of the Great War. The Cenotaph in front of which we are standing is that memorial, now including our people from World War Two and the Korean War. Many people here today can feel proud of their contribution to maintaining and preserving this beautiful memorial.

The Hedley Boys joined the armed forces like young men everywhere on both sides of the conflicts – a desire for change, adventure, excitement in lives that felt routine, boring, even stifling. The thought of becoming a victim of a mass slaughter in the millions was far from consciousness.

On this, the hundredth year since the end of the First World War, it is timely to think not just of the young men and women who “joined up”. We should remember those who remained, enduring loss and loneliness and increasing strain in maintaining their communities.

It is also time to consider and celebrate the ongoing contribution of all those who continue to contribute to their community here in Hedley. They are right here, right now, and should be recognized as the foundation of our community and our own world. Look around you. These volunteers maintain and develop our world every day. They deserve recognition and gratitude for their contribution.

Thank you, All.
William Day
November 11, 2019

The illicit drug trade is well known for spawning turf wars. Brazen shootings are pretty common, sometimes in busy malls in daylight. But not in quiet Hedley, at least not until about 2 am last Friday.
The drive-by shooting targeting the drug house on Daly Avenue was likely not a case of competition for market share, but it was an indication that the drug trade invites volatility and danger.

Fortunately, in this case the four adults and one child in the house were not injured, but errant shots could have killed innocent individuals in neighbouring homes. Even for a professional sniper, shooting while driving is not an exact science.

Police have said the alleged shooter is a 35 year old male resident of Hedley. We’re a pretty close-knit community and some curious amateur sleuths in town have pieced together bits of information and scuttlebutt which they believe points to a well known individual. Apparently very early that morning a police cruiser was parked in front of a local home for some time. Also, the pickup truck owned by the alleged shooter was hauled away. Just about everyone in town would recognize the pickup. These two pieces of information point to the same individual. There may be more.

Some years ago, in our initial foray into the Similkameen Valley, we lived in the home where the cruiser was parked. It is troubling to me that the young man living here might be responsible for the shooting. I have always found him to be friendly, quite willing to chat, and certainly not someone I would have suspected. He’s a father and works in an industry that pays well.

What might motivate a seemingly rationale individual to engage in what could be construed as a vigilante action? News reports of such incidents almost invariably suggest gang involvement or a drug transaction gone wrong. But this is Hedley and the drug trade here is not all that sophisticated. Although we don’t know those who show up in cars from out of town, just about everyone recognizes the hapless addicted souls who routinely walk to the drug house. At this time we can only speculate as to motivation of the shooter.

One eye witness report after the shooting incident came from a woman walking her dog at about 6 am. “I saw the police lined up in front of the museum, about a block from the drug house,” she said. They were apparently confident our laws and court would back their actions. For Hedley citizens, it’s puzzling that an individual can be quickly dealt with by overwhelming force, but a “business” dealing in harmful illegal drugs cannot be easily touched.

The police are well aware of the concerns of residents regarding this life destroying malignancy festering in our midst. This causes me to wonder if as a society we are unwilling, or too apathetic, to provide them with the powers and means to take decisive action. Or do our elected representatives not deem our limited voting base worthy of their attention?

Interestingly, immediately after the police tape was removed and the officers departed, it was noted that customers quickly appeared at the door of the drug house, cash in hand, ready to buy. It’s a galling situation and many Hedley citizens are frustrated, disgusted and angered by anemic laws and complacent politicians overly focused on retaining or attaining power.

Is there a solution for our community, or for any community, contending with a similarly troubling issue? I believe there could be, but it will require us to be more proactive than those who make our laws and govern us. The ideal answer might be to clone Greta Thunberg, the Swedish environmental activist. She would certainly have the courage and boldness to lead the charge on this issue. Failing that, we need a local individual to step forward and provide leadership. Currently, Hedley resident TJ Bratt has begun circulating a petition that will go to the provincial Solicitor General, Area G Director, and our MLA. I’ve been assured it will be in the Hedley Country Market this week. It’s a beginning. An opportunity to demonstrate our resolute opposition to this blight that is devastating lives in our
community.

When a raging fire swept through their popular Hitching Post Restaurant in Hedley at about 2 am October 23,2018, it was only by leaping from the second floor into smoke and darkness that Bill Carmichael and Trisha Mills escaped the inferno. Since that catastrophic life altering night, they have battled to reconstruct virtually every aspect of their existence, including their health. There have been many questions concerning their recovery and whether they have plans to rebuild.

Last week I invited Bill and Trisha to our home for coffee and Linda’s freshly baked matrimonial cake. I recalled that in a conversation with them in February, although they were in wheelchairs and living with pain, I had been impressed by their courage and optimism. They both expressed a powerful resolve to regain the capacity to walk. Bill talked about again being able to drive. Having known individuals who threw up their hands in the face of seemingly insurmountable circumstances, I wondered if Bill and Trisha were still as hopeful as they had been.

When they arrived we were pleased to note they were walking, albeit cautiously, each using a walking stick for balance. Our first questions concerned the state of their physical recovery. “I’m finished my physio sessions and I walk in nature to improve my balance,” Bill said. “I’ve lost a lot of muscle in my legs. I need 2 more operations on my knees, plus another to fuse one ankle. Then there will be a further 6 months of recovery.” I detected no hint of lament or complaint.

“We’ve come a long way physically, but we’re not there yet,” Trisha added. “I have 2 plates in my back. I had significant nerve damage and my feet feel cold, plus there is tingling. I go for physio once a month and do exercises on my own.” With evident delight she added, “the screw is gone from my heel and I can put weight on it now.”

Bill and Trisha are currently living in a small seasonal trailer. I wondered how she can do exercises in such cramped quarters. “We are learning to make do with what we have,” she said.

“When the restaurant burned,” Bill explained, “we lost the possessions closest to us, including family pictures and momentos. We’ve learned we really don’t need a lot of belongings. We feel there is benefit in a simpler life.”

It was evident they had discussed this at considerable length. It wasn’t just a means of consoling themselves. “Not having what we had isn’t a big thing,” Trisha agreed. “It has clarified what is really important to us. What is of real value is being alive, having health, mobility, family and friends. In the past we took these too much for granted. Moving forward, we don’t want to clutter our lives.”

Our conversation turned to whether the Hitching Post will rise from the ashes. “People are telling us they hope we’ll start over, and we want to,” Bill said. “The way our bodies are working will determine that. We can’t put a date on it.”

“We talk about the future pretty much every day,” Trisha added. “We understand very clearly that to operate a busy restaurant, our mobility will need to increase significantly. Even so, we are looking for ideas that could make it possible.”

“People are giving us suggestions,” Bill said. “We’ve talked about having more efficient equipment. We’ll need a better dishwasher.”

To this time they have received only a partial payout from their insurance company and there have been snags in their negotiations. “Until recently, our thinking was clouded by the heavy doses of drugs we were given to combat pain. Now we are better able to understand the company’s written communications to us, and we realize there are inaccuracies.” Receiving the full payout will be important in any future plans.

Since the fire I’ve been asked repeatedly, either in person or on my blogsite, “Do you think they will rebuild the Hitching Post?” When I say it will depend on Bill and Trisha’s health, especially their mobility, the questioner is invariably disappointed. What we all desire is an answer that includes the word “yes.” Bill and Trisha live with this uncertainty every day. From the beginning the odds have been against them, but I’m convinced that if mere mortals can produce this miracle, they having the thinking, resolve and patience to get it done.

This past weekend the annual summer Hedley Street Dance once again drew a lively crowd. There were plenty of faces Linda and I didn’t recognize. We know some people travelled a considerable distance to be here. Music was provided by “The Stormriders,” a Kootenay based band. Our new neighbour, Dave Tailby, an accomplished and respected musician was on stage as a guest. He will likely continue performing with “The Stormriders.”

The band shell was constructed Saturday morning in about 4 hours by several Hedley men. Mike Galics and Viktorya Bratt are 2 of the key organizers of the event which is sponsored each year by the Hedley Community Club. Viktorya’s parents, Doug and T.J. Bratt, have long played a leading role in the club and in organizing the dance. Mike emphasized that a number of individuals had given time and energy to make the dance happen. Mylah, Mike and Viktorya’s daughter, jumped into this scene at the last moment without being prompted. Her enthusiasm for being in a picture with her parents was a delight.

Everyone who bought a ticket for the event was treated to a sumptuous meal consisting of a variety of salads donated by very generous local ladies, baked potatoes and bbq chicken. People in our community know when Doug Bratt is manning the grill, it will be tempting to go for seconds. A number of individuals did.

A section of Hedley’s main street (Scott Avenue) was closed off for the event and tables and chairs were set out for the meal. At the table where Linda and I were seated were 2 very pretty young women, citizens of Mexico. They are currently picking fruit in the Cawston area. Prior to this they had been picking mushrooms in the Yukon. In Mexico Ale (left) is a graphic designer. Her friend, Susy, does bike tours for tourists in Mexico. Each morning before going out to pick fruit, she does a long bike ride to maintain her conditioning. Both seemed pleased that I wanted to take their picture.

Whether people danced, or just sat on the sidelines and enjoyed the scene and the music, it seemed everyone was having a good time.