The colour party from the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 561, led by Comrade Bruce Grant, made the short march from the branch down the street to the Elliot Lake Cenotaph Monday morning for this year's Remembrance Day ceremony.
They were greeted on site by an enthusiastic children's choir directed by Mark Frolick singing O Canada a few minutes before 11 a.m.
The ceremony was witnessed by hundreds of spectators who lined Manitoba Road adjacent to the Cenotaph. They had come to pay their respects to Canadian warriors who served, sacrificed and died for Canada during times of war. The First World War ended at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of November, 1918, exactly 101 years ago.
Comrade Howard Tate led the Act of Remembrance at 10:58 a.m. He began, "They shall not grow old," to which spectators responded, "We shall remember them."
He was followed by the playing of The Last Post at 10:59 a.m., and two minutes of silence which followed at 11 a.m., and then Reveille.
Minutes later, Elliot Lake Mayor Dan Marchisella, himself a veteran of the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan, delivered the dignitary speech.
"The bitter cold this morning makes you think about the suffering of those who lived and fought in these conditions,” he said. "They defended our freedom of speech, our freedom of religion, the choice to elect officials to our country, and for us to celebrate these freedoms, like the comfort of your warm home."
After the mayor concluded his salute to Canada's military heroes on behalf of the City of Elliot Lake, he marched to the foot of the Cenotaph where he laid a wreath to honour them.
Representatives of various civic groups and organizations followed the mayor in laying dozens of wreaths near the same spot. They did so in honour of various veterans, individuals and groups who served in the wars in which Canadians made contributions around the world.
Following the ceremony, a number of members of the Elliot Lake Royal Canadian Legion Branch 561 retired to Woodlands Cemetery on Ottawa Street to attend a memorial service there.