(The firefighters of Station 81 installed the Goulbourn Museum’s Poppies of Goulbourn display on November 4, 2026 to commemorate Remembrance Day. Firefighters who assisted with the installation are Salshar Almoflehi, Justin Charron, Braeden Mullin and Kaitlyn O’Donnell. Photos: Stittsville Central.)
Since 2018, the Goulbourn Museum have been remembering those who went before us. Their poppy installation is a visual reminder of the military contributions made over the years by the men and women of Goulbourn and reflects on our history as Ottawa’s first military community.
An annual exhibit to commemorate Remembrance Day, the display of poppies first began in 2018. The Poppies of Goulbourn net has grown substantially since that first year through community and volunteer collaboration from near and far crafting the poppies each year. Becoming so large in fact, that the Museum has been recruiting the assistance from the firefighters at Ottawa Fire Station 81 Stittsville since 2022, ensuring the net of poppies was safely installed with its full visual effect.
Nadine O’Sullivan of Stittsville donated 1,047 on a poppy net she and other volunteers created when she worked at the Carleton Place Hospital. Upon retirement, the poppy net came with her. Nadine said, “I wanted to donate the net where it would be seen and the Goulbourn Museum was the obvious choice.” Museum staff calculate that approximately 786 hours were spent creating the net.
Alyssa Gutoskie, Museum Program Coordinator shared, “One of our long-time volunteers and student staff members, Veronica Peniak has been contributing to our poppy net since 2024, hand-making 100 poppies and attaching all of the donated poppies to the net. Veronica has spent over 235 volunteer hours on the Museum’s poppy net. Veronica and her sister Martina have been some of our hardest working student volunteers.”
This initiative is a way for the Museum to support our community in remembering and honoring our military personnel and veterans, both past and present. As many of us have our own personal connection through family, friends, or other loved ones, it is important to provide community members with a means to contribute and show their appreciation. The Museum staff encourage people to stop and reflect on the enormous contributions of our military to Canada.
While pausing to remember those who have given their lives while serving in our nation’s armed forces, please visit the Poppies of Goulbourn display for a moment of remembrance and reflection and thank the many community members who have contributed by crocheting and knitting poppies over the years.