(This was the picture that changed everything. The annual tribute- decorating the graves at Arlington National Cemetery- was a quiet affair, and used unsold wreaths from the Worcester Wreath Company to decorate some of the older graves in the cemetery that were not visited as frequently as when the stones, and the memories, were new. This poignant image of the graves at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered in snow, went viral. Suddenly, the project received national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to help with the Arlington decoration project. Others wanted to emulate the Arlington project at their National and State cemeteries, or to simply share their stories and thank Morrill Worcester for honoring our nation’s heroes. This year, the project decided to decorate all the 300,000+ graves in the 635-acre reservation. 27,000 people showed up to help. O’Sullivan’s in Clarendon offers a superb bloody mary to help get warmed up after placing a few dozen wreaths. Photo Worcester Wreath Company).

Helpful tips: when 27,000 volunteers show up at the same time to place wreaths, don’t expect to use your Arlington Pass to drive on. Arrive early. Tailgate the night before. A pole can be used to carry fifteen or twenty wreaths between two volunteers. Insist on getting multiple wreaths from the volunteers- some of them thought it was one-to-a-customer. The object is to get them out there. Parking is a challenge. Plan on doing some walking. The Fort Myer side might be the best way to attack the problem. Make sure you fluff the red bow on the wreaths before rendering a hand salute and moving on. You will be moved, guaranteed.

The power of crowd sourcing made Wreaths Across America into a social media phenomenon. I heard about it through the company email, since my former employer decided to sponsor the decoration of one of the sections down on the flat land below Arlington House and President Kennedy’s grave. I never got down there- traffic was bottlenecked at the Fort Myer gate, and I considered myself lucky to find a parking place on the base near the stable complex.

It was a hike to get to the cemetery, and the light-bulb came on when I realized that work was work, find a truck and start hauling wreaths. I was part of a army of scouts, active military and assorted men and women, kids, black and white, all with smiles and all waiting in line to get armloads of green wreaths. For all the bad news flying around these days, it was refreshing to see the real America just get on with something the way we always have. It was inspirational- and I was frankly weepy all morning and did not care.

Walking by Arlington House, Robert E. Lee’s former mansion, a woman dressed as Mary Custis Lee, gray haired under bonnet and in hoop skirt, called out that they were open for visitors. A group of women, also in costume, were playing carols on hand bells. The Hall was stately- the ceilings must be fourteen or fifteen feet, and I marveled to walk the same floors that had been trod by the Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, and which will be my eventual home (life is uncertain, but that is the plan) until the bluffs of the cemetery crumble into the Potomac.

It is an amazing story. Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company of Harrington, Maine, was a 12 year old paper boy for the Bangor, Maine, Daily News when he won a trip to Washington D.C. I remember those contests and never got close to qualifying- he has been a go-getter since he was a lad. Morrill’s trip to Your Nation’s Capital was one he would never forget: Arlington National Cemetery made an especially indelible impression on him. This experience followed him throughout his life and successful career in business, reminding him that his good fortune was due, in large part, to the values of this nation and the Veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their Country.

How is that for a contrast with the usual “news and traffic on the eights, and when it breaks?”

In 1992, Worcester Wreath found themselves with a surplus of wreaths nearing the end of the holiday season. He recalled later how this began, saying:

“I started Worcester Wreath Co. in 1971. That first year I sold 500 wreaths. Over the past 37 years with the help from my family, our business has grown to sales of over 500,000 wreaths.”

Remembering his boyhood experience at Arlington, Worcester realized he had an opportunity to honor our country’s Veterans. With the help of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington.

As plans were underway, a number of other individuals and organizations stepped up to help. James Prout, owner of local trucking company Blue Bird Ranch, Inc., generously provided transportation all the way to Virginia. Volunteers from the local American Legion and VFW Posts gathered with members of the community to decorate each wreath with traditional red, hand-tied bows. Members of the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C. helped to organize the wreath-laying, which included a special ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

You can see what the convoy from Maine to Arlington looked like here:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10203346574487590&pnref=story

The annual trip to Arlington and the groups of volunteers eager to participate in Worcester’s simple wreath-laying event grew each year until it became clear the desire to remember and honor our country’s fallen heroes was bigger than Arlington, and bigger than this one company.

Morrill has a mission statement on the Wreaths Across America website:
Remember. Honor. Teach.

I don’t think I have been so moved in years. If you want to help next year, now that I know how it works, let me know and we will make a weekend of it. If you can’t make it, you can support by sending donations to:

Wreaths Across America
PO Box 256
Harrington, ME 04643
www.wreathsacrossamerica.org

Copyright 2014 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303