Players from the New Glasgow Bombers Atom C hockey team spent Remembrance Day raking leaves for Helen MacDonald, wife of late Second World War veteran Hughie MacDonald.
Coach Jason Wagner said that roughly 30 people, including players and their families, came to tidy up Helen’s property in what was both an act of remembrance and a team-building exercise for the Bombers.
“I used to live across the street, so I used to know Hughie very well,” said Wagner.
Hughie, who passed away a few years ago, served with the Canadian military in Europe during the Second World War, and was himself a talented hockey player.
After he returned home, Hughie spent some time with the Moncton Hawks, but turned down offers to play professionally on the NHL.
For him, holding a hockey stick felt too much like holding a rifle.
“He just didn’t want to hold anything in his hand,” recalled Wagner.
While the team and their families enjoyed meeting Helen and bonding together, Wagner said that Remembrance Day was “more than just a day off school.”
Many children and youth were in attendance at the November 11 ceremonies in both New Glasgow and Sunny Brae on Saturday.
