Lyndonville, Medina will have noon ceremonies today for Wreaths Across America

File photo by Tom Rivers: Steve Goodrich, commander of the American Legion in Lyndonville, and Anna Stelianou are pictured in December 2019 at the grave of her parents, Ary and Konstantina, who emigrated to Lyndonville from Greece after WWI. Anna Stelianou provided the funding for an endowment to pay for about 400 wreaths to be set at veterans’ graves each year in Lyndonville.

There will be ceremonies at noon today in Lyndonville and Medina as part of Wreaths Across America. After the ceremony, more than 400 wreaths will be placed on veterans’ graves in Lyndonville and 1,000 will be set at three cemeteries in Medina.

The American Legion Houseman-Tanner Post in Lyndonville is heading the Wreaths event in Lyndonville. The ceremony will be at noon at Lynhaven Cemetery on Housel Avenue.

In Lyndonville, the cost for about 420 wreaths is paid for by an endowment funded by Anna Stelianou. She gave the funding to the Lyndonville Area Foundation to create an endowment to pay for the cost of the wreaths every year long into the future. The wreaths are $15 each with the current cost for all the wreaths about $6,000 a year.

Stelianou funds the wreaths to show her appreciation for the community’s kindness to her parents, Ary and Konstantina. They emigrated to Lyndonville from Greece after WWI. Stelianou also donated the money for the program in honor of her five brothers who served in WWII and the Korean War.

Medina will have its ceremony at noon at Boxwood Cemetery, with the 1,000 wreaths to then be placed on veterans’ graves at Boxwood, St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart cemeteries. The 1,000 wreaths is up from 315 last year. Tom Snyder, a Navy veteran and owner of Medina Lumber and Hardware, is helping to fund the increase in wreaths this year.