Memorial Gardens Wreaths Across America Day Ceremony Dec. 16

Dexter Statesman file photo

A wreath laying ceremony will be held Saturday, Dec. 16, at Memorial Gardens Cemetery.

The Poplar Bluff Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution have spent the past months fundraising to be able to bring this special recognition for veterans to Poplar Bluff for the first time.

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. Local dignitaries lead the dedication ceremony. The public is invited to bring friends and families and participate in placing the live balsam wreaths on the veterans graves following the ceremony.

Dec. 16 is national Wreaths Across America Day and similar ceremonies will be held at 3,700 other locations across America. This includes the Missouri Veterans Cemetery at Bloomfield.

Activities in Poplar Bluff have been coordinated and led by Brenda Yarbro and Jane Worley of the Poplar Bluff Chapter National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

“The community of Poplar Bluff has generously raised funds throughout 2023 to ensure that each of the 870 veterans graves at Memorial Gardens will be marked with a wreath of remembrance,” organizers reported in a press release. “The DAR chapter wishes to thank local businesses, foundations, clubs, and individuals for their collective effort to support this cemetery.”

More help is needed in the form of volunteers to help lay the wreaths, the group said. There will be a shuttle from the AMC Theater parking lot over to Memorial Gardens ceremony site, as minimal parking will be available at the cemetery. The shuttle will be available from 7:45 a.m. until 1 p.m. Additional parking will be available at the First Church of God and the FCC parking lots.

On Jan. 20, the wreaths will be removed beginning at 9 a.m. and help will again be needed in the removal effort. The Ozark Regional Recycling Center will accept the wreaths.

Wreaths Across America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded to continue and expand the annual wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery begun by Maine businessman Morrill Worcester in 1992. The organization’s yearlong mission — Remember, Honor, Teach — is carried out in part each year by coordinating wreath laying ceremonies at Arlington, as well as more than 3,700 veteran’s cemeteries and other locations across all 50 states and overseas.