OCL Launches Postcard Campaign for Remembrance Day

Tuesday, 1 November 2022 at 15:11

By Brad Kraemer

There will also be an in-depth display for all of November on the life of an Ingersoll veteran.

INGERSOLL - The Ingersoll branch of the Oxford County Library have launched the “A Hero Lived Here” postcard campaign for Remembrance Day.

By November 11, 100 homes in Ingersoll will receive a unique postcard detailing the life of one of 100 soldiers enlisted in World War I and World War II, many of whom didn’t return home. Specific addresses were chosen because they were once the home of a soldier from the Canadian Infantry, Royal Canadian Air Force or Royal Canadian Navy during the first or second World War.

The Ingersoll Cheese & Agricultural Museum are also in collaboration with the library to keep the names and memory of Ingersoll service people alive. Vicki Brenner, Digital Literacy and Local History Technician says the postcards are meant to memorialize veterans and inspire the home’s current occupants to remember another Ingersoll resident's sacrifice.

"As time goes on, we're losing our veterans from the World Wars. I think it's important that our cultural institutions sort of take up that mandate, and create a personal connection for people. So delivering a little story, a little vignette right into the home of someone that used to live there is one way that we can achieve that."

There will also be an in-depth display for all of November on the life of an Ingersoll veteran. Brenner shares a bit about the story of Flight Lieutenant Donald Jenvey and the display they have for him.

"We've printed his World War Two service record and it contains a letter. A Dutch Resistance family hid him during World War Two after his plane crashed behind enemy lines. It's a fascinating account of a real veteran and what he went through to try to escape to safety. That's what you can experience if you visit us at the library."

If you do end up receiving a postcard from the library in the days leading up to Remembrance Day, the library encourages you to reach out or leave a comment on the Ingersoll Cheese & Agricultural Museum’s Facebook Page.