Jennifer McPhee
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Nov 06/02) - Have you noticed there are now two kinds of poppies?

The spiffy new black- centred poppy re-appeared on the scene this year. But according to the Royal Canadian Legion, the advent of the black-centred poppy means many folks are rejecting thousands of green-centred poppies still out there.

Jan Fullerton will wear the green poppy until it inevitably falls off, then she will purchase a black one. She feels the green one is too Christmassy, but thinks the black poppy is more somber, more appropriate. - Merle Robillard/NNSL photo

This is the story behind the change: Real poppies are red and black. And the very first manufactured poppies were also red and black. But in 1980, the Legion switched to green.

Why the red-green combo?

Green was meant to bring the green hills of France to mind, explained Ron Rivard executive director of the Legion's Alberta-NWT command.

However, soon after the birth of the green poppy, veterans wanted the crisper black-centred poppy back. But switching back right away was out of the question since the Legion still had millions of green poppies. So, it wasn't until this year that the Legion reintroduced the black poppy.

That's why the Legion is asking people not to shun the rest of the green poppies.

But are Yellowknifers even guilty of rejecting the green poppies? More importantly, have they noticed the difference?

At Kim's Confectionary, Thuy Ha sells the black version. She said many customers do comment on the change.

But some, like Jerry Danis, haven't noticed. Danis, who was sporting the black style, listened patiently to the tale of the rejected green poppies.

"I feel guilty now, " he said, looking down at his poppy. "But black matches my jacket."

Scott Lundrigan said the poppy's flaw lies not in the colour, but in the way they seem to slide right off jackets and disappear.

"I'm going to lose it anyway, " he said. "But I guess that's how they make their money."

Most people said colour doesn't matter.

"It's the significance of the day that matters," said Candice Morris.

Perhaps, the final say should go Dusty Miller. What does the 83-year-old Second World War vet think? "A poppy is a poppy."