Karl Arlington Mizener kept in touch with his family while serving as a medic with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. “They were a very close-knit family,” said Keith Mizener, Karl’s nephew. “They kept in touch.”

He enlisted on September 29, 1917, leaving behind his parents and five siblings— Leslie, Earl, Lillie, Lettie, and Gladys.

While in France during Christmas in 1917, Lillie wrote him a poem explaining how his family missed him but was proud of him. “Though we miss him always and dream of him the while, he too, can act like soldiers who do their part—and smile,” she wrote.

After the war, he returned to his family farm in West Bolton, Quebec. He later moved to Knowlton, Quebec, and stayed involved in the community by working for churches and hotels writing scrolls, a grocery store doing inventory, and a government department handling pensions. Like the rest of his musically inclined family, Karl played bass horn and volunteered in a local signing quartet. “He was a well-respected man,” said Keith.

Karl married Margaret Bates but their relationship didn’t last. He was born on January 13, 1895 and he died September 14, 1974 in Knowlton.

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