A Port Hope man spent days preparing and creating a piece of artwork that rests along the shores of Lake Ontario.
Sixty-three-year-old Theo Welch spent over six hours on Wednesday, June 30, 2021 completing the artwork along Port Hope’s west beach.
Welch is known in the community for creating personalized walking sticks, but also is very well known for standing on the Hamilton Road overpass when a fallen soldier passes along the Highway of Heroes.
Everytime the procession of a fallen soldier travels along the highway, Welch stands with his 20-foot pole with the Canadian flag at the top.
As the procession approaches the bridge, Welch lowers the flag to half staff.
For the second year, COVID has put a damper on Canada Day, so Welch came up with the idea three months ago about bringing his Canadian flag and creating a piece of art along the shoreline of Lake Ontario.
“The way COVID has ruined Canada Day I thought it was appropriate to come down and at least commemorate and remember the ones that fought for our freedoms.”
“What better way then on the edge of Lake Ontario.”
Welch said he has been working approximately two hours each day on the project since last Wednesday.
As a show of respect, Welch will be lowering the flag on Canada Day for the hundreds of unmarked graves of Indigenous youth from residential schools.
“I’m coming back tomorrow around noon and then I’ll come back and raise it back up the following day.”
There is much more to the artwork than just a number of Canadian flags along the shoreline.
Welch explains what he calls “glass teardrops” in the sand representing the fallen soldiers.
The natural part of the artwork including the wood, rocks and sand represents the Indigenous people.
There are seven small Canadian flags which represent a week, the three on the opposite side represent the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit, but all together there are 12 which represents the 12 months of the year.
For people going for a walk along the beach in Port Hope, Welch hopes it’s a nice surprise for them to see on Canada Day.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
