When Christine Arbic was in Cambridge around this time last year, she saw something that took her breath away. A forest of knitted poppies on trees surrounding a cenotaph gave her the idea to do the same in Halton Hills.
Her efforts have yielded results, with knitted poppies sprucing up trees at the Georgetown and Acton memorials. This is the first time such a custom took place in the municipality.
“I have strong feelings about Remembrance Day and about veterans,” Arbic told HaltonHillsToday.
These emotions come from her own family’s strong military roots. Her great-grandfather served in the First World War at 35, leaving behind five kids.
“I've said to my dad, ‘What was he thinking? At 35?’ He said, ‘He had no choice.'"
The poppies from the Georgetown and Acton sites total 2,780 and were made by 41 knitters organized by Arbic. She mounted the completed poppies onto netting she used in the past to protect her home from her son’s hockey practices. She then wrapped those nets onto trees near the memorials.
“It took my daughter and I probably four hours or so to put the netting up around the trees,” Arbic said about the Georgetown portion of the project, with the Acton installation taking much less time.
She's already thinking about going bigger one day. When she was in Cambridge, she noticed that similar poppies were beautifying old stone buildings like churches.
“I think would be cool to do from St. George's bell tower, from Knox's bell tower,” she mused.
The poppies will stay up until Nov. 12.
