Perth resident pursues second Veteran Memorial Crosswalk to create tranquil outdoor tribute at local hospital

Just months after helping bring Perth’s first Veteran Memorial Crosswalk to life, resident Don Rideout is already working another community initiative, this time at the the Great War Memorial Hospital.

Rideout is a proud Veteran himself, having first joined the Canadian Armed Forces in 1979. He served as a communications specialist before undertaking postings in Germany, the Queen Charlotte Islands and Halifax. After retiring in 2018, Rideout and his wife settled just outside Perth, where they quickly embraced the small-town community.

The idea for Perth’s first Veteran Memorial Crosswalk came after the couple caught wind of another community installing a crosswalk of its own.

“We both said almost simultaneously, ‘We need a crosswalk here in Perth,'” Rideout recalled. “This is a huge military town, with military history anyways. There’s lots of veterans that have retired out this way.”

That vision became a reality earlier this summer with the dedication of the Basin Lane Veteran Memorial Crosswalk near the Crystal Palace. The crosswalk was Rideout’s design, which he says he designed to “specifically include two generations of Veterans.”

According to Rideout, not everyone embraced the idea when the first Veteran Memorial Crosswalk was unveiled in June.

He told Lanarkist that some residents questioned whether vehicles and pedestrians should travel over a memorial dedicated to veterans, while others suggested the money could be better spent supporting veterans’ causes directly.

In response, Rideout said he has always emphasized that the painted crossing is intended as a tribute rather than a memorial. “The memorial is the cenotaph,” he said. “This is just a reminder to people.”

He hopes the crosswalk encourages residents and visitors alike to pause, reflect, and remember the sacrifices made by Canada’s veterans as they go about their everyday lives.

Despite those initial concerns, many community members were pleased with the crosswalk and quickly asked Rideout what he had in store next.

“I thought, ‘I don’t know…Go home and do some woodworking,'” Rideout said with a laugh. “But then I thought, why not get something done up by the hospital?”

Rideout has now launched another grassroots campaign to raise $5,000 to install a second Veteran Memorial Crosswalk at the hospital, linking the main entrance with the Garden of Hope, a tranquil outdoor space where patients, families, and healthcare workers can pause to reflect.

The new location, he said, felt like a natural fit.

The Perth Great War Memorial Hospital was itself founded as a living memorial following the First World War, having provided care for returning soldiers. Rideout envisions the proposed crosswalk to connect the hospital’s entrance directly with the Garden of Hope, creating what Rideout describes as a “respectful and safe bridge for visiting veterans, vulnerable patients, and healthcare workers transitioning from clinical care to the garden setting.”

After approaching hospital leadership with the idea, Rideout says the response was immediate and positive with hospital administration, facilities staff and the hospital foundation all embracing the initiative.

As with the first crosswalk, the project will be entirely community funded with a goal to raise $5,000. Rideout hopes residents will once again rally behind the idea as they did with the first crosswalk, reiterating that even small donations help move the project closer to completion.

Ideally, Rideout hopes to see the crosswalk completed in time for a Sept. 10 ceremony at the hospital honouring First World War veteran John Andrew Hope, who helped establish the Great War Memorial Hospital after returning home from serving the country overseas.

Community members wishing to support the initiative can make a donation by Interac e-Transfer to veterancrosswalkperth@gmail.com. Rideout notes that due to this being a grassroots initiative, official tax receipts cannot be issued, though non-official receipts for personal or business records are available upon request.