Â鶹´«Ã½

LUSELAND — The Luseland and District Museum hosted the Luseland Girl Guides on May 7 for a Victory in Europe Day celebration.

VE-Day itself takes place every year on May 8, marking the day Germany unconditionally surrendered its military forces to the Allies back in 1945. Now, celebrations erupt around the world to mark the end of the Second World War in Europe. This year’s events marked the 80th anniversary.

The museum gathered artifacts, stories and other remnants from the Second World War from the community to create a display highlighting the men and women who served in the military from the area. During the event, the girl guides toured guests around the museum, showcasing the artifacts and the stories that go with them. The celebration was very well attended, and had cookies and tea prepared by Marianne Delhommeau after the tour.

For the celebration of the 80th anniversary, this year’s summer theme for the museum is Wartime Memories. The exhibits and the history they showcase are made to transport visitors back in time. Many stories from around the communities were shared that evening, one being from the Halliday farm. On May 8, 1945, Jean Halliday’s father raised the Union Jack flag on their granary.

“I imagine it meant a great deal to the people around that he had raised it that day, so it’s kind of interesting to look back on the photos of it,” said Halliday, who found the original flag and was able to display it inside the museum.

The Flahr family also brought their keepsakes to put on display. Rick Flahr’s father, Adam, served in the Second World War as an infantry soldier. He enlisted in the military in 1943 and, after training, landed in England in August 1944. He saw active duty until he was seriously injured in October of the same year, although he had returned to the front lines by November. In March 1945, he was evacuated due to exhaustion. Upon his discharge, he returned to farming in the Luseland area. Adam spoke German very well, often acting as an interpreter for German captives during his time. His son, Rick, hand made a wooden case to display his father’s uniform and several of his father’s personal belongings for the day.

The story of Canadian gunner Millan J. Wankel was also shared by Murray Wankel, his grandson. Millan was 18 or 19 years old when he began serving. He served alongside his two older brothers. One of the brothers never made it back home; the other did, although he had lost roughly 90 per cent of his hearing. Murray said his grandfather wouldn’t ever say much about his experiences of war, although he did keep a diary. When Millan passed, Murray was about seven or eight years old, and says he remembers most of the stories of his grandfather from his father. Before returning from the war, Millan had taken a German soldier’s helmet and brought it home, which Murray displayed with his grandfather’s uniform and other belongings.

These were just a few of the stories and items on display in the museum for VE-Day. Many of these items will continue to be on display throughout the museum’s 2025 season.