Military jerseys on display in Hanna
By Joan Janzen
During the latter part of October until after Remembrance Day, patrons of Freson Bros. Grocery Store in Hanna can view a large display of hockey jerseys commemorating Veterans Day. The jerseys are just a portion of the 140 military jerseys belonging to Hanna resident Dean Viste.
The green and red jersey is the oldest jersey in Dean Viste’s collection. It is a 1946 British Empire Services League jersey; soldiers returning from WWII played in this league in Ontario.
Dean Viste’s collection of jerseys commemorating Veterans Day were displayed for the first time in 2016 at the Red Deer Memorial Cup. Patrons at Freson Bros. Grocery Store in Hanna can view fifty of the jerseys which are on display. Today the collection consists of 140 jerseys.
Don Boos, Store Manager, said he’s honoured to display 48 of the military hockey jerseys. “Here is a visible reminder of the sacrifices that our veterans made, so we never forget,” he said. Each jersey has a poppy sewn on it to commemorate Veterans Day.
Viste has accumulated a total collection of 1250 jerseys. He started collecting back in the mid-1980s, but it wasn’t until 2008 that he began acquiring the military jerseys.
“Teams offered those in 2005, but not every team does it,” Dean explained. “Mostly junior teams from the Canadian Hockey League do it. Some do it one year, then do another one two years later.”
Since 2008, the host team in game one wears a jersey that’s dedicated to the military, mostly from their area, he said. “It’s the largest collection of its kind in Canada; I don’t think anyone would have more. There’s only two of us with the whole collection in Canada. The oldest one in my collection is from 1946.”
The 1946 jersey is a red and green British Empire Services League wool sweater. Later, the name was changed to the Canadian Legion. Soldiers returning from WWII played in this league in Ontario.
The jerseys come up for auction beginning November 5th, which is why Dean describes November as a “bad budget month” because the jerseys “come with a fee.” There’s still about a half dozen jerseys that Dean would like to add to his collection.
Throughout the year, his collection of 1250 jerseys hang in closets in his home and his personal man cave. Fortunately, Dean’s wife is also an avid hockey fan. “She wouldn’t put up with all those jerseys in the house if she wasn’t,” he reasoned.
The first time a portion of his Military Jerseys saw the light of day was in 2016 at the Red Deer Memorial Cup hosted by the Red Deer Rebels, when thousands of people saw the thirty jerseys which were on display. “They had security there, so I said let’s do it,” he said. The collection is near and dear to Dean’s heart.
This is the second year Freson Bros. Grocery Store is displaying fifty of the military jerseys. “At the end of the day, it went over quite well,” Dean said about last year’s display, which was put up for a period of two weeks. “This year, we’ll put it up for three weeks.”
Each year, the store displays a different selection of jerseys, which is available for patrons to review until shortly after Remembrance Day. Dean described it as a “very fitting tribute.” Local Legion members whose parents fought in WWII are quite happy with the jersey collection.
He grew up in Hanna and acknowledges that many from that area went to WWI and WWII. “There’s lots in this area that have earned that tribute. It’s hockey giving back, that’s totally what it is,” he concluded.