{"id":11907,"date":"2015-09-16T08:23:40","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T12:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=11907"},"modified":"2015-09-16T08:47:50","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T12:47:50","slug":"queen-hailed-for-devotion-to-service-as-she-surpasses-victorias-record-reign","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/queen-hailed-for-devotion-to-service-as-she-surpasses-victorias-record-reign\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen hailed for \u201cdevotion to service\u201d as she surpasses Victoria\u2019s record reign"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Royal Canadian Legion Colour Guard raises the 1922-1957 Red Ensign at Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Park’s newly installed flagpole on Wednesday.<\/em><\/p>\n

By Brock Weir<\/strong><\/p>\n

As she surpassed Queen Victoria\u2019s record as Canada\u2019s longest reigning monarch on Wednesday afternoon local time, Aurora residents hailed Queen Elizabeth II for her decades of public service.<\/p>\n

Over 85 people from across Aurora and York Region descended on Queen\u2019s Diamond Jubilee Park last week to mark the historic milestone, marking the occasion with performances from the Royal Canadian Legion\u2019s White Heather Pipes and Drums, the Evergreen Choir of the Aurora Seniors\u2019 Centre, Aurora Teen Idol Louisa Barbosa, the Legion\u2019s Colour Guard, and the hoisting of the Red Ensign, which served as Canada\u2019s flag when the then-25-year-old Elizabeth II succeeded as monarch on February 6, 1952. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very, very proud of our Queen in Canada, and being the longest-reigning monarch, we think she is marvellous,\u201d said Judy Fleming, who came in from Thornhill just for the occasion. \u201cShe has given her whole life to service to her country, to the Commonwealth, through her lovely presence, her hard work and dedication. She has always stepped up to the plate when it has been difficult, as well as the joyful moments. We just think we\u2019re part of history today. <\/p>\n

After the crowd had assembled \u2013 including several Aurora residents named recipients of the Queen\u2019s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 \u2013 the White Heather Pipes and Drums conveyed Newmarket-Aurora MPP Chris Ballard, Mayor Geoff Dawe, and Councillors John Abel, Tom Mrakas and Michael Thompson across the street from Town Hall to take part in the ceremony.<\/p>\n

They were joined by Town Crier John Webster, who hailed the Queen as a modern \u201cMother of Confederation.\u201d
\n\"2015-09-17-06\"
\n\u201cDuring more than 63 years as our monarch, the Queen has united Canada by her example of inclusiveness, dedication and selfless service, of which we are deeply proud, and which we pledge to try and mirror in our own lives,\u201d said Mr. Webster. <\/p>\n

This was a sentiment echoed by Mr. Ballard, who put the Queen in the context of history, including seeing a dozen Prime Ministers come and go during her reign. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Queen continues to be one of the most influential individuals in the world,\u201d said Mr. Ballard. \u201cShe is a member of our Canadian family who reflects our country\u2019s traditions and our way of life. It is her selflessness, devotion to service and many successes that are to be celebrated by all.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Canadians, we see success in many forms. The Queen herself shares her own views of success. She says, \u2018I know of no single formula of success, but over the years, I have observed that some attributes of leadership are universal and are often about finding ways of encouraging people to combine their efforts, talents, their insights, their enthusiasm and their inspiration to work together.\u2019 Here is to working together, celebrating our achievements and finding success in all our forms.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his remarks, Mayor Dawe said the milestone was a \u201cmomentous occasion\u201d, particularly in a community like Aurora that \u201ccherishes its traditions.\u201d
\n\u201cWe recognize the defining role the monarchy continues to occupy in the heritage of our great nation,\u201d he said. \u201cAs Aurorans, we can take pride in [being] recipients of the prestigious Prince of Wales Award for protecting our built heritage; as home to the respective and storied Queen\u2019s York Rangers regiment; we celebrate our indelible ties to the monarchy. We remember with great pride the visit of HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, as he personally awarded medals of meritorious service to various Rangers.<\/p>\n

\u201cAurora and Canada represent the very best of British traditions: we honour the rule of law, we strive to better ourselves, we help those less fortunate and, in the face of adversity, we persevere. In her unsurpassed reign, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has personified these traits, acting as a steadfast and inspirational example of both fortitude and forthrightness. As we pause to acknowledge the milestone of longevity, let us also pause to recognize Her Majesty\u2019s strength of character, her selflessness and her lifetime service to her people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the dedication at the park, the festivities continued across the street at a celebratory tea hosted by the Aurora Seniors\u2019 Centre. There, Councillor Jeff Thom continued his emcee duties and memories of the Queen submitted for the occasion were shared with the crowd. It also afforded dignitaries, and Federal candidates, to mix and mingle with Centre members and the community at large. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is a remarkable opportunity for people in Newmarket-Aurora to celebrate what Queen Elizabeth has meant to us in the history of our country,\u201d said Conservative candidate Lois Brown. \u201cI am very thankful for what the Queen has offered to each one of us and I wish her a healthy and happy life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill Conservative candidate Costas Menegakis: \u201cThis was definitely a fitting tribute to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth who is a symbol not only in Canada but around the word for freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, how we can all live together peacefully, harmoniously.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leona Alleslev, Liberal candidate for the same riding, said the event was \u201cspectacular\u201d: \u201cAs a history and politics degree person who went to Royal Military College and has a Queen\u2019s commission, I swore an allegiance and oath to serve God, Queen and Country. It is really exciting to see this much energy and this much enthusiasm for the Queen\u2019s reign. It has been a privilege to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Added Kyle Peterson, her counterpart in Newmarket-Aurora. \u201cI think it was a fabulous event, well organized and I think it was a great turnout. It was nice to see and I think it is a monumental day for all Canadians and something we should cherish and celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As she surpassed Queen Victoria\u2019s record as Canada\u2019s longest reigning monarch on Wednesday afternoon local time, Aurora residents hailed Queen Elizabeth II for her decades of public service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-363","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-09-02 02:28:18","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/2015-09-17-05.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}