<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Tahoma;
panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
p
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";}
p.MsoAcetate, li.MsoAcetate, div.MsoAcetate
{mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text Char";
margin:0in;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:8.0pt;
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.BalloonTextChar
{mso-style-name:"Balloon Text Char";
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-link:"Balloon Text";
font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif";}
span.EmailStyle20
{mso-style-type:personal;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:windowtext;}
span.fsl
{mso-style-name:fsl;}
span.EmailStyle22
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1027" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-CA link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><b><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Creston Museum hosting “Trench Dinner” to commemorate Great War battle<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>On April 24, 1915, Canadian troops made their first major appearance on a European battlefield. It was the Battle of St. Julien, and it was a pivotal moment in the Great War.</span></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><br><br><span class=fsl>“We have identified fifty-one young men from the Creston Valley who had enlisted by the time the Battle of St. Julien occurred,” says Creston Museum manager Tammy Hardwick. “Some were still in training, but over thirty of them were in France, and on that battlefield.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Thanks to many hundreds of hours of research by volunteer John Dinn, the Museum has been able to trace the movements of almost all of those young men – the date they enlisted, the units they served in, and where exactly they were on April 24, 1915.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>“We’ve had to make educated guesses for a few of these guys,” says Hardwick, “but for the most part we know whether they fought in the Battle of St. Julien, and, if so, where they were on the battlefield and whether they survived it or were wounded, killed, or taken prisoner.”<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The Museum has also traced – although in less detail – the military careers of the soldiers after the battle. Collectively, they fought in every major battle of the Great War, served in every capacity from privates to flying officers, earned many military decorations, and account for nearly half of the local fatalities of the war.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Now, the Creston Museum invites the public to share the individual stories of these fifty-one brave young men, at a special Trench Dinner on April 24, 2015 – the hundredth anniversary of the Battle of St. Julien.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><br><span class=fsl>Each dinner ticket bears the name of one of those fifty-one soldiers. Guests will follow “their” soldier through a special exhibit that details his enlistment and training process and pinpoints his presence and actions on the battlefield. Where exactly was he on that day, a century ago? Did he survive the battle? Did he survive the war?</span><br><br><span class=fsl>Then, guests will enjoy a meal similar to the one “their” soldier would have had in 1915.</span></span><span class=fsl><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>“We do have to take into account modern health regulations,” says Hardwick with a laugh. “So we won’t be serving rats, and we’ll even avoid the beans-on-toast thing. But we will be re-creating, as closely as possible, a typical meal for each solider, depending on where he was and what happened to him. Obviously, the lads training in England would have had quite a different meal than a soldier who had been taken prisoner.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Although the Battle of St. Julien marked the first time Canadian troops were subjected to the horrors of chemical warfare, “we won’t actually recreate a gas attack,” says Hardwick. “And no one will go without a meal, even though a lot of the local soldiers were without food or water for a couple of days during the battle.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>Even so, the Museum guarantees that guests will leave with a greater understanding of what it was like for these young men, so far from home, fighting a war that was far longer, and far bloodier, than anything they had expected.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The special exhibit and dinner will be held at the Canadian Legion Hall on 11<sup>th</sup> Avenue North, on Friday, April 24, 2015. The exhibit opens at 5:30; dinner will be served at 6:00. Tickets, $15 per person, are available at Creston Museum and Black Bear Books. Space is limited; advance tickets are highly recommended. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:0in'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>The Creston Museum's Annual General Meeting will follow.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt'><span class=fsl><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>For more information, or to purchase tickets</span></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"'>, call 250-428-9262 or email <a href="mailto:crestonmuseum@telus.net?subject=Trench%20Dinner">crestonmuseum@telus.net</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>---------------------------------------------------------------------------</span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" coordsize="21600,21600" o:spt="75" o:preferrelative="t" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" filled="f" stroked="f">
<v:stroke joinstyle="miter" />
<v:formulas>
<v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0" />
<v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0" />
<v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1" />
<v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2" />
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth" />
<v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight" />
<v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1" />
<v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2" />
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth" />
<v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0" />
<v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight" />
<v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0" />
</v:formulas>
<v:path o:extrusionok="f" gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" />
<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t" />
</v:shapetype><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_1" o:spid="_x0000_s1026" type="#_x0000_t75" alt="Flags half" style='position:absolute;margin-left:1.5pt;margin-top:0;width:87.75pt;height:103.5pt;z-index:251657728;visibility:visible;mso-wrap-style:square;mso-wrap-distance-left:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-top:0;mso-wrap-distance-right:9pt;mso-wrap-distance-bottom:0;mso-position-horizontal:absolute;mso-position-horizontal-relative:text;mso-position-vertical:absolute;mso-position-vertical-relative:text'>
<v:imagedata src="cid:image001.jpg@01D06EC6.1D335DF0" o:title="Flags half" />
<w:wrap type="square"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><![if !vml]><img width=117 height=138 src="cid:image001.jpg@01D06EC6.1D335DF0" align=left hspace=12 alt="Flags half" v:shapes="Picture_x0020_1"><![endif]><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Tammy Hardwick, Manager</span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Creston & District Museum & Archives</span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>219 Devon Street, Creston, BC V0B 1G3</span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Phone 250-428-9262</span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.creston.museum.bc.ca/">www.creston.museum.bc.ca</a></span><span lang=EN-US><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span lang=EN-US><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><i><span lang=EN-US style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="https://www.facebook.com/CrestonMuseum">Find us on Facebook!</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>