Construction begins on permanent Humboldt Broncos memorial

Although hearts were as heavy as the wind and rain on Saturday, it was all smiles and hugs as members of the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Committee and families of those who died in the 2018 Humboldt Broncos crash gathered at the crash site to break ground on a permanent memorial structure.

The crash happened on Highway 35, about 30 kilometres north of Tisdale, at the junction of Highway 335.

Since the accident, the site has become a common stopping point for hockey teams and members of the public passing through to pay tribute to the 16 players and staff who lost their lives that day, but now Saturday’s sod turning has marked the first step in creating a proper memorial site.

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Local companies contribute to construction

Kurt Leicht is a member of the committee and a Humboldt local who lost his son Jacob during the crash. He said that there had been a number of hoops to jump through since the committee first officially met in February 2019 due to sight lines at the intersection and the nearby railroad track, and it’s thanks to a large community effort that the project is moving forward.

“To actually get to the groundbreaking, we had a number of delays mainly from our government Crown corporations over the years. That’s what’s taken us the longest period of time, but we’re here today to finally get it started.

“Kirsch Construction will begin on Monday at the site here, WestCrete Concrete from Humboldt is also volunteering their time, we have Paramount Paving going to be doing the paving, we have a couple companies out of Nipawin that we’ll be doing the other part of the project for concrete and we can say a big thanks,” Leicht said.

“The main reason why we’re able to actually do this project is because of the love and donations from all the people, that’s where the money came from in place to do this. One of the trucking companies also donated a large amount of money for this for this area. So that’s also where, how and why we’re able to even do this project today.”

Plans for what the memorial site will look like once completed. (Humboldt Broncos Tribute Campaign)

Memorial will have parking, pond, monument

Currently, the site of the crash features crosses with the names of the victims, along with items left in tribute to each of them. The new memorial will include a parking lot to get vehicles off the road for people to stop and pay tribute, a small pond with 29 feet of track around it in honour of the 29 people on the bus that day, and a monument memorial structure.

Humboldt City Councillor Rob Mensch is the chair of the committee as well as their liaison to the city, and he said there had been a lot of questions posed about when people will start to see progress on the memorial site.

Mensch commended the efforts of everyone involved that helped get the project off the ground, especially when it comes to two of the Humboldt locals that were affected.

“We’ve been working with our committee members and especially Kurt and Carol (Brons) being local to Humboldt, their involvement in this project has been tremendous. They’ve gone through a lot of hard work over the last six years.

“The City of Humboldt has been involved, but this project is coming together from donations from the community, from the greater area, and from across the province and the country. We’re really grateful to everybody that’s contributed to this.

“We haven’t had to spend any tax dollars money for this, and I’m grateful for that and that we can proceed with this first project that I think is going to keep the memory alive for all those that were lost,” Mensch said.

Making site ‘more restful and more peaceful’

Committee member Carol Brons, whose daughter Dana was the team’s trainer and lost her life in the crash, was also at the ceremony. She said it had taken a lot of time and effort to put a plan together for the site between the committee, community members, and the large number of families of the players that are primarily based in Alberta, but the sod turning had made it all worthwhile.

“Originally nobody was really ready to do a lot because of shock and pain, and a lot of people were very cognizant of not trying to push. But then as time went on, we felt a little bit of that need to get something started. So it’s a relief to have this part in time to actually say we are going to be starting as of this coming week and have some more ground moved,” Brons said.

“We’re thankful for everybody that’s been involved from the council, from the city, from the various different entities around the area, and the input from the families. We’ve been trying to keep that foremost in our mind, trying to keep the 29 on the bus and the 16 angels at the forefront to make the planning and design respectful of that.

“It’s hard for a lot of people to come by this spot, so I think if we can make some changes to make it more restful and more peaceful, that’ll be a big step forward. So we’re thankful that we can get to that point,” she said.

Celeste Leray-Leicht, Kurt’s wife and Jacob’s mother, was also at the sod turning. While initially she found the extra attention surrounding the circumstances of her son’s death difficult, she now welcomes the community that has come together around such a tragic event.

“It reminds me, too, that in general most people don’t get this level of attention when they’re going through their own grieving process surrounding the loss of their particular loved one, and so it just highlights the importance of remembering loved ones past and lifting each other up in times of sorrow, and it taught me a lot about supporting others who are going through their own grief.”

For more information see the Humboldt Broncos Tribute Campaign website here.

— with files from 650 CKOM

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