A small community in western Prince Edward Island came up with a big way to support their local veterans. A crowd gathered at the Wellington legion on Saturday to watch as a cascade of nearly 4,300 hand-knitted and crocheted poppies was draped down the side of the building. Volunteers from across the Island, along with some in Nova Scotia and Ontario, put hundreds of hours into stitching the poppies starting back in March.
"Some of them did 10, some of them did 800," said Kathleen Couture, one of the legion members who spearheaded the project. "We met here at the legion once a month ..
. and we crocheted together as a group of ladies. it just kept getting bigger and bigger and it was really an amazing event to see the community come together.
" Dozens of volunteers helped knit the poppies while others donated money to buy the wool. (Victoria Walton/CBC) The waterfall of poppies will stay up until just after Remembrance Day and will also be lit up at night. The idea arose after a veteran found a photo on social media of a similar display in Ontario and showed it to the legion's executive.
"We looked at the picture and it took about 30 seconds to say, 'Yes let's do this,'" said legion president Mario Couture. "If I was alone and in my truck where nobody could see me, I'd shed a tear. It's just beautiful, it's overwhelming, it's a piece of art.
" While dozens of volunteers knitted the poppies, others helped by donating money to buy the wool. The waterfall will make for an eye-catch.
