SHUBENACADIE: As you get out of your car at Rex McCoul Park in Shubenacadie, you once were greeted by a gazebo and lots of green grass.
Now, just beyond the gazebo, you are met with a beautiful Memorial Garden dedicated to the three victims of the April 2020 mass-shooting, whose lives were ended in Shubenacadie.
East Hants RCMP Const. Heidi Stevenson, Joey Webber and Gina Goulet are remembered in this garden featuring memorial benches which were recently installed to complete the tribute.
The three were among the 22 victims (and an unborn child) killed by a gunman during a 13-hour period, from Portapique to Shubenacadie, before police shot and killed him at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield.
Shubenacadie Community Development Association (SCDA) volunteer board member, Shirley Peach, brought forward the idea. She envisioned a place where friends, family, and community members of Shubenacadie, East Hants, and indeed all of Nova Scotia, could reflect on the lives of our three fallen community members.
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Al MacLeod, president of the SCDA, said when the concept came forward, no one hesitated in supporting it. It was done at a time people were feeling helpless and were left wondering what they could do to show the families they cared.
“Everyone got behind the idea and we had a lot of support from the local businesses in the plans,” he said on Oct. 13. “It’s been a process, but it’s finally come to fruition.”
MacLeod said the memorial garden is now completed and people can visit the area whenever they like. The SCDA wants the community to understand the project was their way of helping the victims’ families, and the community of Shubenacadie, to heal from such an unthinkable event.
“Everyone felt so helpless in the wake of the tragedy,” said MacLeod. “It impacted our little community here in Shubenacadie. It’s just a way of recognizing those who were lost here in Shubenacadie and the tragedy overall.”
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As you enter the park from Highway 2, you can go right or left along a gravel walkway, and it takes you up to the beautifully designed tribute. Shrubs and flowers are planted around a paved semi-circle formation where the three metal benches are; with names of Webber, Const. Stevenson and Goulet adorned on each one.
Webber’s bench is blue with the back of it designed with the crossed checkered flags to represent his racing pursuits, and a horseshoe, emblematic of his talent as a horseman.
Goulet’s memorial bench is yellow, has palm trees and water symbols on the left and right, and a central cancer ribbon pulled from either side by two hummingbirds.
Const. Stevenson’s bench is emblazoned in RCMP red with the sayings “Uphold the Right” written across the back from left to right and “Maintiens le Droit” from bottom left to upper right. The back of the bench has an RCMP Musical Ride Horse etched in it.
Const. Stevenson had been a member of the RCMP Musical Ride for three years.
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MacLeod said a great deal of hands made it possible. He wanted to acknowledge the efforts of the community in making the memorial garden a reality: Anne Perry at Pro Green Landscaping; KelGreg Enterprises; Velocity Machining (creators of the benches); donations from Shaw Brick; Elmsdale Landscaping; the Municipality of East Hants; Wee Delivery; and contributions from private individuals and groups in the area.
“There have been many in the community coming together for this,” he said.
He said he has reached out to Goulet’s daughter, Webber’s sister, and the RCMP liaison working with Const. Stevenson’s family, to make them aware the memorial benches were installed in the completed garden.
MacLeod hopes the community will use the memorial for what it’s meant to be.
“We hope people use it for a chance to have some quiet reflection,” said MacLeod. “This tragedy has impacted everyone in some way.”
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