The annual Royal Canadian Legion poppy sales campaign is underway and in Sudbury that means you might get a chance to say happy 100th birthday to Max Topolnisky, a long time Legion member and Canadian Army veteran.
Topolnisky was out at the Long Lake Road Walmart Friday selling poppies to members of the public, as he has done for several years in the past.
“People have to appreciate the freedom and democracy we have in Canada. Appreciate this,” said Topolnisky.
The former Sudbury miner was born on Nov. 19, 1923 on a farm near Dauphin, Manitoba. He looks forward to celebrating his 100th birthday next month, although he said several family members already celebrated his 100th during the warmer weather earlier this year when it was easier for people to travel.
He advocates staying active and getting exercise to maintain your health.
"Exercise! Walk every day whether you like it or not," said Topolnisky.
"You've just got to get up, get dressed and go," he said.
Topolnisky was a Manitoba farm boy when the Second World War broke out in Europe. Before long, he found himself in Winnipeg, where he joined the Canadian Army with the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, one of Canada's older iconic infantry regiments.
It wasn't long before he was shipped overseas.
"Oh yeah, we got to see England, Belgium, Holland and Germany," he said.
Modestly, Topolnisky said he didn't see a lot of action but admitted with a laugh that he "did hear a lot of loud noises.”
When the war ended he said he was happy to arrive back in Halifax. He went back home to Manitoba, but decided that life on the farm was not what he expected.
Topolnisky said he also tried his hand at tobacco farming in Southern Ontario, but that didn't appeal to him either.
It was his brother who told him about gold mining in Virginiatown, east of Kirkland Lake. That's where he got his first taste of life as a miner.
He spent three years mining for gold when the word got out that nickel miners in Sudbury had better contracts. Topolniski said he would spend more than three decades working for Inco and Falconbridge.
The annual Legion Poppy Campaign is on for the next two weeks in Sudbury and across Canada to help Canadian veterans and their families for a variety of health and social services.
The Legion emphasizes that the Poppy Campaign funds are directed to veterans and not for any other purposes.
"Donations collected during the Poppy Campaign are held in trust at the branch level to directly support veterans and their families within their community and to help ensure Canadians ‘never forget’," said the Legion website.
Len Gillis is a reporter with Sudbury.com.
