Town of Amherst, N.S., honours veterans with commemorative crosswalks

The Town of Amherst, N.S., has found a unique way to honour veterans with the help of an artist who paints the ice at the local hockey rink.

Daren White was commissioned by the town to paint commemorative crosswalks ahead of Remembrance Day. White said he got the job because he is conditioned for the work.

“They just knew that I’m used to being on my knees for hours and hours and hours and painting,” White said. “So, they thought if he can paint on ice, well, we’ll call him to see if he can paint on a sidewalk.”

White said the idea came from a crosswalk in Hamilton, Ont., that was painted to honour veterans. Other Canadian cities have chosen to honour their veterans the same way.

“We sat and chatted and thought that perhaps what we should do is come up with our own simple design,” White said, noting the soldier graphic they chose has been popular on social media.

“We had one veteran who had written back and said, ‘Nice to see the soldier, I wouldn’t want people walking on a poppy,’” White said.

Amherst Mayor Robert Small said Amherst has a deep military history.

“This is Veterans’ Week, and Remembrance Day is this coming Monday, so we wanted to do something special to respectfully celebrate our veterans,” said Small in a news release. “We’ve received a lot of interest recently from citizens who wanted to see us paint these memorial crosswalks – so, that’s exactly what we’re doing today.”

One local business owner said the unique way his town has chosen to celebrate veterans makes him proud.

“It makes me very proud, especially during Remembrance Day, that there's a lot of veterans that sacrificed for us to be able to do stuff like that, which is important,” said Dale Kearney.

White said it was a challenge to paint three crosswalks in six hours in downtown Amherst.

"Lest we forget" is written on a crosswalk in Amherst, N.S. (Josh Smith/CTV Atlantic)

“They had to shut things down … we had to get out on the street and do the logos quickly,” he said. “They’re strategically placed in front of areas and monuments that pay tribute and respect to the veterans.

The town has no plans to remove the crosswalks after Remembrance Day.

“I’m just glad to be a part of something that we hope sends a positive vibe out or a thank you to our veterans and just makes people think.”

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