Martensville woman keeps remembrance alive with lawn display

Every November, Jan Diehl adorns her Martensville, Sask., home with a special Remembrance Day tribute.

"I do other displays like Christmas displays and Halloween displays and that," said Diehl, who started the tradition eight years ago.

"I thought this was the one that was missing from everybody's yard."

Diehl begins transforming her lawn shortly after Halloween festivities wrap up.

She said the idea is for people to slow down and honour a day that sometimes gets lost between major holidays.

"They're missing such a big part," she said. "Why we're all free."

Diehl said it is difficult finding Remembrance Day decor, so now she makes everything on her own.

She has her display set up in two parts.

There are lawn decorations with rows of poppies, crosses and the Canadian flag.

Then there are artifacts — photographs and letters — telling the stories of soldiers who fought in Afghanistan along her fence.

What started as a personal act of remembrance has now grown into a commitment to honouring local veterans.

"During COVID, Sherbrooke Homes had come here and some of the veterans had been brought out in their wheelchairs," Diehl said.

"They were hanging on to my hand and they thanked me for doing this, and it was supposed to be about them not me, so I didn't expect that." 

For Diehl said it's more than a seasonal decoration — it's a personal commitment to preserving Canada's military history.