By Adam Frisk Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Royal Canadian Legion launched its annual poppy campaign on Saturday (Oct. 24), in a slight break from previous yearly traditions.

The start of the 2026 campaign marked a structural change with the Royal Canadian Legion Dominion Command, the national headquarters based in Ottawa, announcing that moving forward, the poppy campaign will begin on Oct. 24 and run through Nov. 11, regardless of the day of the week. Historically, the national campaign began on the last Friday of October, which caused the start date and campaign duration to fluctuate each year.

“It finally came from command that they’re going to change it so it’s always going to start on the Oct. 24 to Nov. 11, no matter what day it falls on,” Donald Stairs, poppy chair for Branch 129 in Haliburton, said.

Stairs said volunteers rolled up their sleeves to prepare campaign materials despite the new start date falling on a Saturday this year.

“We had quite a crew here yesterday to get things organized and getting things going,” Stairs said.

Volunteers were busy packing and distributing donation boxes to 111 local business locations across Haliburton, leading up to the start of the campaign. Stairs said volunteers will be stationed outside of 10 retail locations in town, including Tim Hortons, Foodland and The Independent, with an 11th location hosted by local cadets.

The legion member said there will also be a digital tap-to-donate option alongside traditional cash donation boxes.

While more than 40 community members signed up to assist this year, Branch 129 is asking for additional volunteers to help cover shifts outside local stores.

“We’re a little short on people to campaign… We’re always looking for more,” Stairs said. The money raised during the campaign stays locally and is kept separate from general legion operations.

The money is held in trust to support Haliburton veterans, their families facing hardship, help cover costs for food, shelter, prescription medication, medical equipment, and accessibility modifications, Stairs explained.

Funds also support youth education initiatives, local cadet units, and the branch’s annual veterans dinner, which will take place on Nov. 8.

Stairs, who recently retired to Haliburton and stepped into the poppy chair role in his second year with the branch, said leading the campaign is deeply personal..

“My grandfather was in the air force, so I have a personal connection to why I jumped in to help out,” Stairs explained. “This is for our vets. We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them… In my eyes, this is a big thing and this is what it’s really about.”

He went on to offer a simple reminder of etiquette for residents wearing their poppies ahead of Remembrance Day.

“Always wear it over your heart, on your left lapel.”

By Adam Frisk Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

For more than a century, the historic Reid House at the Haliburton Highlands Museum has offered a glimpse of what life was like during the 19th-century pioneering days.

But for museum staff, locals, and curious visitors, the 1882 structure has long been known to house more than just artifacts.

Next month, the local lore of the Reid House will reach a national audience when the museum is featured on an episode of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) series Ghost Hunters of the Grand River.

“The Reids would be so shocked to find out that their house, in 2026, was part of a museum and that thousands of people every year were coming to look at their house and find out something about them that’s interesting,” museum director Kate Butler told The Highlander.

Butler, who has been the director of the museum for more than a decade, explained that stories of strange occurrences happening in the house began making their way to her office as soon as she started on the job.

‘There’s a lot going on here’

Some of the stories and happenings Butler has heard include the sound of a ball bouncing down the stairs of the old house and hearing laughter coming from down the hall. She noted that a few visitors have also claimed to see a woman looking out from an upstairs window, or standing out in the garden.

“One story that really stays with me involved a family visiting with their young son, who was maybe three or four,” Butler said. “They went across to check out Reid House, and when they came back over to the main building, the little boy started telling me about another boy inside he’d been talking to. There wasn’t anyone else over there.”

The director said that while she hasn’t seen a ghostly figure herself, there have been some small, unexplained happenings within the walls of the house. “I have not had an apparition appear right in front of my face, but we have seen things like windows that have seemed to open by themselves. Drawers in the house that we were certain were closed, and no one else was in there. We’ve come back, and they’re open,” Butler said. In another instance, an old toy doll that was kept in a carriage moved positions while the house was empty.

But for Butler, none of the happenings feel unwelcome. “I’ve never felt anything malevolent in the building,” she said. “Whatever is here has always been friendly. Early on, investigators told us if the place is haunted, just say hello to them once in a while. So I just figure we’re sharing the space.”

Butler explained that interest in the Reid House began to grow after Andrew Hind wrote about the building in a book on Ontario’s haunted heritage, which led to an initial investigation in 2019 by Wellington County Paranormal Investigators. Then last fall, the crew behind Ghost Hunters of the Grand River did their own investigation.

The team had set up equipment in various rooms of the house and used radio-frequency and sensory deprivation techniques to capture some audio. But were they successful? You’ll have to tune in next month to find out. Despite the TV focus, Butler said that ghost lore is really just a starting point to talk about local history. When people stop in asking about the haunted house, staff use the tales as an opportunity to tell the story of John Russell Reid, his family, and 19th-century life in the County.

“People who come in curious about the ghosts are usually just as interested in the real history,” Butler explained. “We always start with the story of the Reids and the museum itself. Ghost stories are like dessert; they come at the end.”

The episode is set to air on Nov. 25 on APTN and will stream on the APTN app. It will also be available on YouTube at a later date.

“Judging by what we’ve seen from the experience we had with the crew from Ghost Hunters of the Grand River, this place is more haunted than I ever possibly imagined,” Butler said. “There’s a lot going on here.”

The townships of Algonquin Highlands, Dysart et al, Highlands East and Minden Hills have been posting voter turnout updates to their social media pages, encouraging eligible voters to continue casting ballots from now until 8 p.m. next Monday (Oct. 26).

Minden Hills said that as of 4 p.m. Tuesday (Oct. 20), approximately 15.27 per cent of eligible voters had done their civic duty. That was up from 14 per cent Monday (Oct. 19). “Less than a week to go. Let’s keep it going, Minden Hills,” the township encouraged while providing voting information.

In Dysart et al, approximately 17 per cent of voters had made their intentions known. Algonquin Highlands was sitting at 10.14 per cent Tuesday and Highlands East at 10.49 per cent as of Monday.

Haliburton Highlands Healthy Democracy Project (HHHDP) spokesperson, Lauren Hunter, said she thinks the voter turnout updates are “great.”

The grassroots HHHDP set out to encourage more candidates to run in 2026, and more people to vote.

In the 2022 municipal election, 12 races across Haliburton County were acclaimed – with only a single candidate nominated for the position. The high number of acclamations likely contributed to that election’s low voter turnout, just 26 per cent on average across the four municipalities in the County. By contrast, the 2026 municipal election has seen only a single acclamation (Algonquin Highlands Ward 1 coun. Karla MacKay), while 56 certified candidates are vying for the remaining 23 council seats across the four municipalities. There are two running for Trillium Lakelands District School Board to bring the number to 58.

Government that affects our daily lives

Hunter said she can only hope the voter turnout numbers increase as well.

“I have to think that through the combination of what we’ve done, the incredible work by all the local media, the township offices have all stepped up in terms of promoting this, and then you’ve got 57 candidates campaigning. I have to hope that it will increase the voter turnout. But the proof will be in the pudding on Monday night.”

Hunter added they had “capacity” crowds at the four allcandidates meetings they held in Algonquin Highlands, Dysart et al, Highlands East and Minden Hills. She said they were closing in on about 4,000 views across the three meetings they’d posted online, with the Algonquin Highlands one uploaded Tuesday (Oct. 20) and expected to boost those numbers.

“It does seem there is a wider group of people who are taking those meetings in, and I am hopeful that they will vote as well, but we are just going to have to wait and see.”

With the final push to vote, Hunter emphasized once again that people must be ready to cast their ballots.

“If you haven’t gotten your information letter, if you have any questions about the process, contact the township offices, and do that as soon as possible. Don’t leave it to the last minute. I would hate it for someone logging in at 7 p.m. Monday and realizing ‘I don’t have my letter. What am I going to do?’ We’ve got to give the township staff time to get the fix together to make sure people can vote.”

Hunter said she could not say enough about the importance of voting.

“It’s the level of government that often gets the least amount of attention but it’s the one that affects our daily lives the most. Roads and bridges, parks and recreation centres, waste and water management, emergency services, and more. We all have a stake in how our local communities are run.”