As I load up my sleigh and head home to celebrate Christmas, I’d like to leave you with a true story, introduced to me by Ilene Spector (a treasured friend of the family). How this has escaped major media is beyond me…. Really reminds us of what holiday spirit is all about.
As a 12-year-old paper boy living in Maine, Morrill Worcester won a trip to Washington, D.C. It was his first time to the nation’s capital–and his first to Arlington National Cemetery, which made an indelible impression.
Many years later, as a successful businessman, those memories continued to resonate. He recognized that it was the sacrifice made by men and women in the military, combined with the values of this nation and its veterans, that allowed him the freedom to flourish.
In 1992, his company, Worchester Wreath Company, had excess inventory on the shelves as the holiday season neared its end. Recognizing an opportunity to fulfill his boyhood dream, and with the help of a Maine senator, arrangements were made to place more than 5,000 wreaths at Arlington Cemetery, in one of the oldest sections, where few visitors came each year.
Next came James Prout, owner of Blue Bird Ranch, offering to truck the wreaths to the cemetery for free. Volunteers from area American Legions and VFWs pulled together with members of the community, providing the labor necessary to hand tie and attach the signature red bows. John Metzler, Jr., cemetery superintendent, worked with others to create a special ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and organize the laying of the wreaths.
Since then, more than 100,000 wreaths have been laid. Elementary school teacher, Larry Ross, takes groups of students from Canaan, Maine to help each year. The Maine Wing of the Civil Air Patrol has joined in. Student groups conduct fundraising events throughout the year so that they can make the trip too.
As the Arlington project continued to grow, more people became aware of it, and donations began to roll in. Since Worcester Wreath is a for-profit company, that wouldn’t do…but…it could help others outside the D.C. area.
Today, Worcester Wreath remains committed to the Arlington project, side-by-side with its non-profit extension, Wreaths Across America. By 2008, more than 100,000 wreaths had been placed on veterans’ graves in over 300 locations, in all fifty states and in twenty-four overseas locations. Thanks to Worcester Wreaths, 60,000+ volunteers, and the generosity of trucking companies everywhere, the Christmas spirit lives on.
Annual wreath placings continue to be held on the second Saturday of December each year…with pride and gratitude.
As we each settle in around the table for Christmas dinner, let’s pause for a moment and say a prayer of thanks for all the families who have a loved one overseas…or a loved one lost. It’s their willingness to step up that allows us the freedom to celebrate faith-based holidays openly, joyfully, and freely.
God bless each of you this holiday season, and God bless the amazing country where we live.
To donate to Wreaths Across America, please send checks to:
Wreaths Across America
P.O. Box 256
Harrington, ME 04643
Or visit WreathsAcrossAmerica.org
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This is, indeed, a great story. Here in Portland, ME, this receives media coverage every year, and within the last 2 or 3, they’ve definitely received major/national media coverage, including coverage of the convoy from Maine to Arlington to lay the wreaths just last year…
Happy Holidays!