Workers place granite slabs atop the concrete base of the monument's water feature. BELLE HATFIELD PHOTO
Published on May 29, 2013
© The Yarmouth Vanguard
Article/Photo by Belle Hatfield
It has taken eight years and countless more in time and money than anyone anticipated at the project's beginnings, but on Yarmouth's Natal Day, Sunday, June 9, the Lost to the Sea Memorial will be unveiled in a ceremony that marks its completion.
The ceremony will take place at 2 p.m. at the memorial, located on the northeast corner of Water and Glebe Streets, just below the town hall. The ceremony will feature music, much of it original, some written for this specific event.
The memorial project was conceived and managed by a committee of the Yarmouth Waterfront Development Corporation and has received federal and municipal support. The Town of Yarmouth embraced it as a signature legacy project during its 250 anniversary celebrations in 2011.
The goal was to see a memorial on Yarmouth's waterfront to honour Yarmouth County's connection to the sea and commemorate those from here who have been lost.
The monument design has undergone many changes, some prompted by funding limitations and others by logistical constraints. The project's final budget, excluding in-kind contributions, is estimated to be around $500,000. Canadian Heritage provided $225,000 and the municipalities of Yarmouth and Argyle made contributions towards interpretive panels. The rest of the project has been funded by the corporation, which receives its funding from the Town of Yarmouth.
Research was an important component of this project. Actually finding all of the people whose names properly belong on the monument - it includes those from Yarmouth County who died at sea - involved more than anyone originally imagined. At some point it became apparent that a website was a natural and critical extension to the project. Now a searchable database, with all the nearly 2,500 names that have been collected, is available at www.losttothesea.com. It is one of the project's intangible legacies.
The names are engraved by date of death on seven granite slabs, the last of which is only partially full.
In a seafaring community, it is only a matter of time before more will be etched in stone.
In addition to the monument, there will be three display panels, including one at the Cape Forchu light station and in Tusket near the courthouse and archives. They will be unveiled on June 1.
Following is the schedule for the June 9 ceremony:
Lost to the Sea Memorial Unveiling
Sunday, June 9, 2013 at 2 pm.
(Prior to the ceremony, a bagpiper will play in Frost Park.)
Introductions: MC David Warner, Secretary, WDC
Blessing and reading -- Rev. Bill Newell
Hymns by The Yarmouth Shantymen.
-- Eternal Father.
-- Partons, la Mer est Belle
Greetings from West Nova MP Greg Kerr
Original song by Kelly Bellamon
-- Fisher of the Sea
Greetings from Yarmouth mayor Pam Mood
Untitled song by Floyd d'Entremont
Greetings from WDC chair Jim MacLeod
Song about the monument by David Mahoney
-- Lost to the Sea
Monument unveiling
Songs by Phil DeMille performed by the duo, Pendulum
-- Ocean's Harvest
-- The Ocean's Last Word
