A dedicated group of volunteers helped bring history to life last Sunday at the Manitoba World War One Museum west of La Riviere.
The annual A Day in the Trenches not only had them in uniform making presentations with various artifact displays but also featured a number of them in trench battle re-enactments
It is both a passion and respect for history which drives them to be involved in this event every year, they say.
“It’s a blast. I’ve always enjoyed history ever since I was a little boy, and to put on the uniform, come outside here and at least experience part of it … to experience part of what soldiers were put through, it’s been invaluable,” said Landon Seaman, who drove up from North Dakota to volunteer for a third year.
“I was looking to get into living history stuff, and I had a bunch of British and Commonwealth gear at home,” said Seaman, who recalled posting about his collection on Facebook. He then connected with Bruce Tascona, who operates the war museum, and started volunteering at A Day in the Trenches. “Putting it on for all these people too, giving them a little bit of an idea what it was like, feels meaningful.
“I especially like coming up here too because the visitors are much more engaged with it,” Seaman added. “They’re engaged, they ask good questions, and they are just great people to talk with us.”
Loic Bazin of Winnipeg is one of the veteran volunteers, having participated for eight or nine years.
His involvement also stemmed from having done other re-enactments and connecting with another person who shared this interest.
“Between shooting at each other, we got to talking about World War One … so we thought, ‘Cool, let’s do it,’” he said. “Every time Bruce says, ‘You want to come play in the big sandbox?’ I go, ‘Yes.’”
Bazin also sees the importance of passing on this history now that it’s getting increasingly further removed from today’s generations.
“It’s about passing on that information hopefully to the next generations in a bid to make sure that it’s not something that gets forgotten. It’s a hugely important part of our history.
“It’s a real blast … I love doing public presentations like this. I’ve done it for over a decade in different uniforms, different languages, and I find it to be always fun,” Bazin added. “Absolutely, it’s fun, and it’s important for people to learn about all of this.”
The Manitoba World War One Museum is open weekends until mid-September from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., or by appointment. You can connect with them by email to tasconaba@gmail.com or on Facebook.
Photos by Lorne Stelmach/Voice
The Manitoba World War One Museum hosted its A Day in the Trenches event Sunday, giving visitors a tour of the life-size trench system on the grounds (left), a chance to interact with volunteers dressed in period uniforms (right) and reenacting battles (right), and to explore the museum’s many historical displays
