Not surprisingly the New York State Public High School Athletic Association is putting a hold on the start of the winter sports season for basketball and wrestling. Swimming will be allowed to begin practicing on November 30 when the winter sports season is scheduled to begin.

Basketball and wrestling have been designated as “High Risk” sports while swimming is in the low -moderate risk category.

NYSPHSAA Executive Director Dr. Robert Zayas stated today: “At this time authorization has not been provided for high risk sports to begin play. The high risk sports start date continues to be examined and will be revised if needed but is contingent upon authorization from state officials.”

However even the swim season may not be normal. Locally Niagara-Orleans League officials are looking at holding a season of “virtual” boys and girls swim meets. The “virtual” meets, matching Albion and Medina for example, would have each school swimming at its own pool and then the times of the teams in each event would be compared to determine the winner of the meet.

Currently, the fall season’s low-moderate risk sports which have included soccer, field hockey, golf and cross-country, are wrapping up their schedules.

The so-called “High Risk” fall sports of football, volleyball and competitive cheerleading, have been postponed and are scheduled to begin play on March 1.

MEDINA – Medina High School will resume in-person classes on Tuesday. The school was remote-only today after the school district was notified on Sunday that a high school student tested positive for Covid-19.

The student was last on campus on Nov. 2. The Orleans County Health Department has worked with the district to identify any close contacts of the student.

If the Health Department feels a child is at increased risk, the child’s family will be contacted directly. Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent, asks parents to contact the school nurse at (585) 798-3843 if a child is placed on quarantine. If that happens, the district will work to ensure virtual learning is arranged for the child.

The district remains committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all students and staff, Kruzynski said.

“Our buildings will continue to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected each and every day,” Kruzynski said in a letter to the community. “Our busses will continue to be cleaned and disinfected after every bus run. Our cleaning regimen, social distancing, barriers and mask requirements are working in helping to fight the spread of the coronavirus on our campus.”

LYNDONVILLE – The high school will return to in-person classes on Tuesday for grades 9-12.

Lyndonville shifted to remote only for those grade levels today as a precaution so the Orleans County Health Department could do contact tracing after a confirmed case of Covid-19 on Sunday for a high school student.

The student was last on campus on Nov. 2, said Jason Smith, the district superintendent.

“We have spoken to the Health Department and if your child is deemed a ‘close contact,’ you will be contacted and provided with further direction,” Smith said in a letter to the community today. “If your son/daughter is contacted and is put on mandatory quarantine, please call our school nurse, Mrs. Kurz, at 765-3124. We will work with your child about being fully remote during the quarantine period. Please note it is not necessary to take action unless you are personally notified by the Health Department.”

The district is committed to providing students and staff with a safe and healthy environment, Smith said.

“I assure you, our building will continue to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected,” he said. “I continue to be proud of our staff and students for adhering to the safety protocols we have in place. Our cleaning, social distancing, barriers and face covering are effective in preventing the spread of the virus on our campus. I ask that you please continue to wear face masks, maintain social distancing and wash your hands frequently.”

Press Release, State Police, Troop A

BATAVIA – The State Police is warning the public on a recent increase of phone scams to elderly citizens. This scam includes a few different scenarios:

• The caller claiming to be a family member to have an illness or was arrested. This caller will put urgency on helping them and not to contact other family.
• The caller claims to be a law enforcement official with a family member under arrest demanding bail or funds for them. (Police agencies do not contact family for bail money.)

The caller in both scenarios will advise the victim to get a specific amount of money and buy gift cards from popular stores such as Walmart, Home Depot, Lowes, Target and other big retail stores. The victim is told to call a number and read off the gift card identification number.

If you receive a call you believe to be a scam:

• Resist the urge to act immediately – no matter how dramatic the story is.
• Verify the caller’s identity – Ask questions that a stranger couldn’t answer. Check with a family member to see if the information is true.
• Don’t send cash, gift cards or money transfers – once the scammer gets the money, it’s gone!

If you have parents or elderly people in your family, take the time to explain this scam to them.

Museum planned to celebrate 60^th anniversary this year, but instead will do in 2021 when it hopes there will be fewer Covid restrictions

Photos by Tom Rivers: Bob Fisher of Robert Fisher Contracting Inc. in Kendall is about 26 feet up high on Dec. 16, 2019, working on the base of the bell tower roof at the Cobblestone schoolhouse. Fisher has worked on several projects for the museum in recent years, doing quality work at an affordable price. Fisher received the museum’s “Business Partner of the Year” Award for 2020.

GAINES – The Cobblestone Museum held its 60^thannual meeting on Saturday and the organization honored key supporters who backed the museum during a difficult year with Covid-19 restrictions.

Gerard Morrisey was recognized as the Cobblestone Museum’s 2020 volunteer of the year on Saturday.

• Volunteer of the Year: The museum didn’t do any large group tours this past year, but still managed 42 tours. Gerard Morrisey led a third of the tours and he was named Volunteer of the Year. He did the tours while wearing a face mask, and insisted on social distancing, wearing of masks and sanitizers for the people on the tours, said Sue Bonafini, the museum’s assistant director and volunteer coordinator.

Morrisey has been a “standout docent” for the museum for several years, Bonafini said. He also won volunteer of the year in 2018.

Usually the museum begins hosting tours of its campus in May. The restrictions from Covid-19 pushed back tours until mid-July. Morrisey was one of five docents who led tours this year after being trained under the new safety guidelines.

Morrisey also served a mentor to interns who trained to lead tours and shadowed Morrisey.

The museum depends on the trained volunteers for the tours, which are critical to sharing the museum’s story with the public.

“Docents meet visitors of all ages and provide a personalized, informative and interpretive experience,” Bonafini said.

Bob Fisher heads down a ladder while working on the bell tower roof in December 2019 for the Cobblestone Schoolhouse, which was built in 1849 and is part of the Cobblestone Museum, a National Historic Landmark on Route 104.

• Business Partner of the Year: The museum recognized Bob Fisher, owner of Robert M. Fisher Contracting in Kendall, as the Business Partner of the Year.

Fisher has used his carpentry skills on several projects at the museum in recent years. This past year he and his son restored and painted the trim on the Farmers Hall, sided the west wall, and installed gutters and a drainage system. Russ Bosch, chairman of the museum’s Buildings and Grounds Committee, said the project resulted in an “impressive transformation of the building.”

Fisher also reroofed the harness and print shops, installed a gutter on the east side of the Brick House, and is making and installed a cedar skirt on the Farmers Hall. He also upgraded the roof on the Greek Revival outhouse roof next to the Farmers Hall.

Prior to this year, Fisher also installed new white oak windowsills on the Cobblestone Universalist Church in 2017, reroofed the schoolhouse in 2018, and put a new metal roof on the schoolhouse bell tower in 2019.

Fisher has also assisted the museum in grant applications by helping to prepare bid specifications and providing quotes.

“He has succeeded to overcome any issues that arise once the work begins with minimal delay or cost,” Bosch said.

Roy Bubb

• Rufus Bullock Award – Roy Bubb was recognized for the award named in honor of the former Georgia governor from Albion for his outstanding and sustained contributions to the museum.

Bubb, a Clarendon native and retired educator, has supported the museum since its early days. He donated items for the one-room schoolhouse, including the teacher’s desk and a chair.

Bubb has been more active with the Cobblestone Society in recent years, attending many events, including bus tours. During the 2019 membership dinner, he purchased an 1880s heirloom quilt during the live auction.

He has donated a vase from a renown ceramic artist for the next fundraising auction, valued at $600. He has also donated puppets in mint condition that are more than 100 years old from Indonesia.

Bubb has also donated generously through his membership, the “60 for 60 campaign” seeking $60 on the museum’s 60^th anniversary and a Pomeroy Fund Challenge.

Bill Lattin welcomes visitors to the Vagg House on Saturday following the Cobblestone Museum’s annual meeting. Lattin led the transformation of the Vagg House, at the corner of routes 98 and 104, into a home decorated in the 1920s and ’30s. Saturday was the first public event at the Vagg House since it was redone and added to the museum’s campus.

• Pullman Award – Bill Lattin, the retired museum director, was recognized with the Pullman Award for his many generous donations to the museum.

Lattin led the museum as director and curator for about 35 years, retiring in 2010. During his tenure as director, the museum was expanded beyond cobblestone buildings to broader Orleans County history. Lattin welcomed the blacksmith shop to the museum, and orchestrated the relocation of the harness shop, print shop and Farmers Hall to the Route 98 section of the museum.

In 1977, a “Privy Council” was formed and Lattin made a mission of finding old abandoned outhouses and giving them a home at the museum campus, wanting to elevate the 19^thcentury authenticity of the growing museum, said Doug Farley, the current museum director.

He praised Lattin for staying involved with the museum since he retired 10 years ago, serving on the board as a trustee or officer. He serves as a mentor to staff and continues to volunteer with many projects.

This past summer Lattin and his grandson, Freeman Lattin, repainted buildings on Route 98. Bill also led the efforts to curate the Vagg House at the corner of routes 98 and 104, the former home of blacksmith Joe Vagg and his wife Nellie, who was active in the temperance movement.

The house includes many antiques from the house’s last owner, the late René Schasel. Many of those items were given to the museum in Schasel’s memory through his estate, which Lattin is co-executor.

Lattin also was able to find additional antiques to decorate the house in a 1920s, ’30s theme. The Vagg House is a new addition to the museum’s campus.

“With a broad knowledge of antiques, Bill has the ability to pinpoint items down to the smallest detail to represent genuineness of the period,” Farley said. “He used his own funds to purchase and donate some additional curios to amplify the feeling for guests that they have truly stepped back in time as they enter the house. And fittingly, Bill built and donated an outhouse for the home’s backyard.”

Maarit Vaga, a Cobblestone Museum trustee, planned many events with museum officials this year for the 60th anniversary of the museum and Cobblestone Society. Those events will be moved to 2021. Saturday’s annual meeting was held in the Cobblestone Universalist Church, the first time since the initial meeting nearly 60 years ago. The meeting is usually held at Tillman’s Village Inn. Saturday’s meeting also included a Zoom option for people to attend through video conferencing.

• 60^th anniversary celebration moved to 2021 – The museum had many events planned for 2020 in honor of the 60^th anniversary of the museum and Cobblestone Society. Many of those events will be moved to 2021, when the museum hopes Covid-19 restrictions will be eased to allow for larger group gatherings.

Despite having to curtail and cancel many of its fundraisers in 2020, the museum is projecting it will end the year with about $6,000 in net revenue – $122,895 in revenues and $116,839 in expenses.

The museum was aided by $15,000 through the federal Paycheck Protection Program. The museum also received $10,919 in donations, $10,615 in membership fees. A matching Pomeroy challenge also resulted in $16,483 from the grant and about $23,000 in additional membership donations through the challenge.

Photos contributed by Hospice: Julie Noreck, a Hospice special events volunteer, is also a seamstress who uses her talent to create gifts for veterans they serve. She sews and creates handmade blankets and quilts for Hospice’s We Honor Veterans program.

ALBION – Hospice of Orleans is very fortunate to have two dedicated volunteers with creative hobbies, who use their talents to make gifts for veterans served by Hospice’s We Honor Veterans Program.

Julie Noreck is a seamstress who sews beautiful blankets and quilts specifically for these veterans.

Beverly Saskowski, a direct care volunteer, board member and all-around supporter of Hospice, paints beautiful designs focused on veterans on rocks of various sizes and shapes. She also does them for the residents of the Martin-Linsin Hospice Residence, as well as patients in their Homecare Program.

The “We Honor Veterans” Program empowers hospices and community organizations to meet the unique needs of America’s veterans and their families, by offering guidance and resources focused on respectful inquiry, compassionate listening and grateful acknowledgement, so that veterans can be guided toward a more peaceful ending.

Beverly Saskowski shows a selection of decorative rocks she painted for veterans served by Hospice of Orleans. Saskowski is a direct care volunteer, board member and all-around support of Hospice.

Donations can be given through countertop kettles

File photo by Tom Rivers: Chuck Eberhardt, left, and Al Pulcino, both members of the American Legion in Holley, were outside the Eastern Orleans Community Center in the Public Square in this photo from Nov. 25, 2013, ringing the bells for the Red Kettle campaign.

There won’t be bell ringers this year for the annual Red Kettle fundraising campaign. Residents can still give to the campaign through counter top kettles that will be placed in many local stores beginning on Tuesday.

Annette Finch, director of community services for Community Action of Orleans and Genesee, said the change was made to protect bell ringers during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Finch also serves as the Salvation Army treasurer. The proceeds from the Red Kettle campaign go to serve people in crisis in Orleans County. The campaign usually raises about $25,000 which is administered by Community Action.

“Salvation Army is able to assist hundreds of struggling families and our community,” Finch said. “The need this year will be even greater than in the past. We anticipate this need will grow during these difficult times. Community Action is committed to being a source of help.”

All of the money given in the kettles stays in Orleans County, Finch said.

“We appreciate your continued support of our Red Kettles in the past and hope that we can again help our neighbors this year,” Finch said.

People can also donate by sending a check to Community Action, 409 East State St., Albion, NY 14411 and indicate on the check “Salvation Army.”

Photo by Tom Rivers: The leaves are in their autumnal glory in this tree in front of the Ward House on Route 104 in Gaines. The building is part of the Cobblestone Museum.

The unseasonable warmth continues in Orleans County this week. Today is forecast to be sunny with a high of 75, followed by a sunny Tuesday with a high of 74, according to the National Weather Service in Buffalo.

On Veterans Day on Wednesday there is a chance for showers before 1 p.m. and it will be partly sunny with a high near 65.

The high temperatures the rest of the week include 50 on Thursday, 52 on Friday and 49 on Saturday.

MEDINA – Medina High School will be doing classes remote only on Monday with no in-person classes after the school district was notified today that a high school student tested positive for Covid-19.

This is the first Medina student to test positive for Covid-19 this school year.

Having no in-person classes in the school will allow the Orleans County Health Department to do conduct contact tracing with close contacts who may have been exposed to the virus.

Medina High School students should log in to Google classroom for each of their classes on Monday, said Mark Kruzynski, the district superintendent.

Students who attend BOCES will also be virtual on Monday.

The Oak Orchard and Wise schools will conduct in-person classes on Monday, as normally scheduled, Kruzynski said.

Lyndonville also is shifting to remote learning for grades 9-12 on Monday after the district was notified today that a high school student tested positive for Covid-19.

High school student tests positive for Covid

LYNDONVILLE – The school district will shift to remote learning for grades 9-12 on Monday after the district was notified today that a high school student tested positive for Covid-19.

“Out of an abundance of caution and to allow time for contact tracing, all 9-12 students will be on remote/at home learning for Monday,” District Superintendent Jason Smith said in a message to the community on the school website.

This is the first Lyndonville student to test positive for Covid this school year. Lyndonville has also had one staff member with a confirmed case of Covid.

The Holley and Kendall boys and girls soccer teams have all earned home games to open the Section V playoffs which begins this week.

The No. 4 seed Holley girls will host No. 13 Sodus in a Class C1 pre quarterfinal game at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

The No. 3 seed Holley boys will host No. 6 Addison in a Class C1 quarterfinal contest at 7 p.m. Saturday.

The No. 7 seed Kendall girls will host No. 10 Caledonia-Mumford in a Class C2 pre quarterfinal at 2 p.m. Tuesday. The winner will visit No. 2 Byron-Bergen on Friday.

The No. 4 seed Kendall boys will host a Class C2 quarterfinal game at 7 p.m. Saturday against the winner of Wednesday’s opening  round contest between No. 12 Perry and No. 5 Pembroke.

In a Class B1 pre quarterfinal round girls contest No. 10 Lyndonville/Medina will visit No. 7 Wayne at 6 p.m. Tuesday.

Photos by Tom Rivers: Jeremy Bradenburg, left, and two of his skateboarding friends look over the design of a new skate park in medina during an open house on Saturday at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library in Medina.

MEDINA – The Medina Skate Society presented the designs for a new skate park to the community on Saturday during an open house at Lee-Whedon Memorial Library.

Construction on the new skate park is expected to start in the spring and be complete in the summer.

The Skate Society has secured a matching grant to upgrade the park with up to $250,000 from the Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation. Medina has $230,000 raised so far and has until Nov. 30, 2020 to see if it can fully maximize the grant.

The Tony Hawk Foundation, now known as the Skate Park Project, also has approved $50,000 towards the project.

The Medina Skate Society has approved the $550,000 design and build proposal from Spohn Ranch Skateparks in Los Angeles, California. The new skate park will replace one at Butts Park. It will be at the same location.

Vincent Onel, VP of Skatepark Development at Spohn Ranch, designed the Medina skate park and discussed the project through video conferencing on Saturday at Lee-Whedon.

The park includes areas and features for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels.

Some of the features include:

• 2.5-foot to 4-foot quarter pipes lining the southern edge of the park.
• A 2.5-foot mini-ramp/beginner bowl section that waterfalls down to a 4-foot section along the north eastern edge.
• A fun box with a hip and an inventive street sized curb (for doing slappys).
• There are hubbas (grind ledges) and grind rails for beginner, intermediate and advanced skaters and riders.
• The intermediate kidney shaped bowl begins at 5 feet and waterfalls down to 7 feet.
• When entering the park from the walkway stretching from the main parking lot past the pavilion/seating area, there is 9-inch manual pad with a 20-inch ledge that will also bare the name of The Luke Nelson Skate Park, said Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society.
• The most prominent feature facing south Main Street is a functional art installation (steep slant) standing approximately 9 feet tall and 24 feet wide, Feig said. “This is where our sponsors will be displayed so it’s the first thing visitors see when they pull into the Butts Park.”

The skate park will be named for Luke Nelson, whose family has helped with many fundraisers and provided an inspiration on the project.

The park will be named for Luke Nelson, a skateboarder from Middleport who often used the park. He was 23 when he passed away on April 22, 2017. His family has donated to the park and helped organize the fundraisers to upgrade the site.

Jeremy Brandenburg, 26, of Medina was among the community members who attended the open house. He said the new park will be a big attraction for skaters.

“It’s going to be amazing,” Brandenburg said. “It’s definitely got a little bit of everything.”

Village Trustee Owen Toale thanked Feig and the Skate Society for doing the fundraising, securing the grants and pushing the project forward.

Toale was pleased to see one of the features mimics the Canal Culvert. Feig suggested that and Onel included it into the design.

“It’s obviously an iconic structure in the area,” Toale said about the Canal Culvert. “To incorporate it is brilliant.”

Chris Goyette discusses the Medina Skate Park with Alex Feig, president of the Medina Skate Society, which has spearheaded the $550,000 project.

The new public concrete skate park will have a smooth surface and new equipment for skaters, bikers, scooters and in-line skaters. The park will also be an architectural work of art, Feig said.

For more information on the Skate Park and the Medina Skate Society, click here. Donations can be made directly to the Medina Skate Society. Larger tax-deductible donations should be made out to the Orleans Renaissance Group Inc. PO Box 543 Medina, New York 14103 specifying in the subject line “Skate Park Project.”

First from WNY to receive DeMolay of the Year since 2006

MEDINA – Medina High School senior Aedan C. Bunch recently received an award from NYS Masons for his achievements in DeMolay. The DeMolay is a nationwide  program sponsored by Masons to guide young men of all backgrounds toward good citizenship, community service, and personal responsibility.

The last time a young man from Western New York received this honor was in 2006. The award, known as the Order of the Tribune, was conferred in a ceremony by leaders from each York Rite Masonic Body and the Grand Master of Masons in New York, William M. Sardone. The award includes an emblematic medal and a knightly sword of honor.

Aedan Bunch is pictured in his DeMolay regalia. This award also includes a knightly sword and medal.

Aedan also received other DeMolay awards, including the ”Representative DeMolay Award” for leadership, and a “Distinguished Service Award” for his efforts in helping his peers during the pandemic.

Each DeMolay Chapter nominates a young man by submitting a recommendation to The New York Grand Chapter of the State of New York, Royal Arch Masons through the offices of the Grand Chapter Masonic Youth Committee who coordinates and presents the award each year under the control of the New York DeMolay Executive Officer.

To be considered for this award the candidate can not be a current or past State Master Councilor or Deputy State Master Councilor and he must clearly demonstrate that he lives by the virtues taught in DeMolay through demonstrated outstanding service to his Chapter, to DeMolay, to his community, his faith community, and to his school. Above all these virtues a candidate for this award should be an example and mentor to his peers, in his DeMolay Chapter and the community.

Aedan, a son of Steven and Ann Webster Bunch of Medina, represents the virtues and tenants of Order of York Rite Tribune through his unyielding kindness and unyielding quiet strength of character. Aedan set an example through his extreme ownership to challenges he faced. It is through this discipline, commitment, and hard work he shows his peers and community what commitment looks like.

Currently Aedan competes for Medina on the varsity cross country team. He attends The Norman Howard School in Rochester, New York through a placement from the Medina Central School District.

He has been recognized by his school as an example by scoring a school all time high score for the Pacer Test. In addition to his school, Aedan was selected by the leadership of Camp Talisman, North Carolina, to attend a session as mentor and planner tasked with helping those campers leaving home for the first time as well as planning and leading activities for an entire day.

He has been selected to return to Camp Talisman this coming summer as a member of Crew where he will be part of team assigned to lead and mentor a group of youth in the wilderness of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

This year’s Order of York Tribune was preceded by an awards ceremony for awards for merit and achievement. Aedan received numerous awards for merit so much that he was awards a “three-bar” hanger for his achievement pennants. He was also awarded with the Representative DeMolay Award which is a merit award earned through a reflective process where a young man provides examples of how he is improving his character, challenging himself, achieving his goals, and leading by example.

Aedan also receive a Distinguished Service Award for his efforts in helping his peers during the pandemic whereby he organized “Operation Cookie Drop” sending a few homemade cookies through the mail during the shutdown.

Aedan also was installed as the Lakes Region Master Councilor for New York DeMolay by the Grand Master of DeMolay International and the New DeMolay Executive Officer, Peter Brusoe.

MEDINA – Boxwood Cemetery will again be the site of the annual Wreaths Across America ceremony, a program started at the cemetery in 2015 by Kathy Blackburn.

The first year, there were 15 wreaths placed at Boxwood on graves in the veterans’ section at the front of Boxwood Cemetery. Last year, Blackburn and other volunteers placed more than 100.

They have had support from the American Legion, VFW, Junior Wilson Club and Sacred Heart Society, and are looking for a corporate sponsor this year. Ideally, Blackburn would like to see a local company step up to sponsor the program and have its employees volunteer to help. Last year local Girl Scouts volunteered and this year both Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts from Troop 28 will volunteer.

Assemblyman Steve Hawley, left, greets Dave Barhite of Lyndonville prior to last year’s Wreaths Across America ceremony at Boxwood Cemetery in Medina. Kathy Blackburn, right, started the program and is looking for donations for wreaths this year.

“We appreciate the Scouts volunteering, and are excited to have them helping again this year,” Blackburn said.

The deadline for donations is Nov. 30, and anyone may send a check for $15 to Village of Medina, marked for “Wreaths Across America,” 119 Park Ave., Medina NY 14103. Donors may specify if they want their wreath placed on a certain grave.

Volunteers are also needed to place the wreaths during the ceremony Dec. 19. They may contact Blackburn at kblackbu@rochester.rr.com, and should arrive at Boxwood Cemetery at 11:45 a.m. The ceremony will begin at noon.

“This is a great program,” Blackburn said. “I am happy to be involved, because my father and uncles all served in World War II.”

Wreaths Across America was started in 1992 by Morrill Worcester, owner of the Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine, who found his company with an abundance of wreaths near the end of the holiday season. Worcester had visited Washington, D.C. as a 12-year-old and seeing Arlington National Cemetery made a lifelong impression on him.

The experience followed him throughout his life, reminding him his good fortune was due in part to the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

So Worcester contacted his local senator and arrangements were made for wreaths to be placed on graves at an older section of Arlington, which had been receiving fewer visitors each year.

As Worcester made plans to donate wreaths for those graves, other individuals and organizations stepped up to help. A local trucking company offered to provide the transportation to Virginia. Volunteers from the local American Legion and VFW posts, along with members of Worcester’s community, gathered to decorate each wreath with red bows. Members of the Maine State Society of Washington, D.C. helped organize the wreath-laying, which included a special ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The annual tribute went on quietly until 2005, when a photo of stones at Arlington, adorned with wreaths and covered in snow, circulated around the internet. Suddenly, the project received national attention. Thousands of requests poured in from all over the country from people wanting to help with Arlington, to emulate the Arlington project at their national and state cemeteries or to simply share their stories and thank Worcester for honoring our nation’s heroes.

Unable to donate thousands of wreaths to each state, Worcester began sending seven wreaths to every state, one for each branch of the military and for POW/MIAs. In 2006, with help from the Civil Air Patrol and other civic organizations, simultaneous wreath-laying ceremonies were held at more than 150 locations around the country. The Patriot Guard Riders volunteered as escort for the wreaths going to Arlington, which began the annual “Veterans Honor Parade” that travels the east coast early each December.

Groups of volunteers eager to participate in the wreath-laying event grew each year, and according to Worcester’s website, it became clear the desire to remember and honor the country’s fallen heroes was bigger than Arlington, and bigger than this one company.

In 2007, the Worcester family, with help from veterans and other groups and individuals, formed Wreaths Across America. The next year more than 300 locations had wreath-laying ceremonies in every state, Puerto Rico and 24 overseas cemeteries. And that year, the U.S. Congress unanimously voted Dec. 13 as “Wreaths Across America Day.”

From more than 100,000 wreaths in 2008, volunteers laid more than 700,000 memorial wreaths in 2014 at 1,000 locations, including Pearl Harbor, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and the site of the World Trade Center tragedy of Sept. 11. The goal of covering Arlington National Cemetery was met in 2014 with the placement of 226,525 wreaths.

Blackburn first heard about Wreaths Across American when Medina resident Shirley Whittleton suggested it at a meeting of the Boxwood Cemetery Association, of which Blackburn is president.

“I looked into it and decided it wouldn’t be that difficult to do,” Blackburn said.

Humbled to accept a veteran’s green wool coat

Have you ever admired something and then it was gifted to you? That is the story behind this green wool service coat.

A while ago, while browsing at Fairhaven Treasures, I was drawn to this wool coat that was hanging in one of the upstairs rooms. It had history, you could just tell.

Here is the coat’s story and the veteran who wrapped himself in it, in duty to his country – The United States of America. The gentleman who wore this coat was a Corporal in the Marine Corps. He was an infantryman. A weapons expert. A M-60 machine gun was his main weapon. He served two tours in Vietnam during 1964-1966, with a 30-day leave home in between.

His time in Vietnam found him often in the jungle and in combat. Like most veterans of the day, his wife says she does not know much of his time in combat. Those that serve during War-time keep their stories close to their hearts and those stories will further shape their minds for the rest of their lives.

So imagine my surprise when his wife came to me one day and said her husband asked her to gift it to me. Yep, goosebumps and tear in the eye. What struck me is when I put this heavy green wool coat on with its green buttons adorned with the Marine Seal of the Eagle, The World and The Anchor, it was quite heavy and yet small.

It nearly fit like a glove and I am only 5’2 and 125 pounds. It was profound because it makes one realize how young those that serve our country often are. The person that wore this in his youth must have been of small stature as many young soldiers are.

This coat gave comfort to a soldier when he needed comfort. Nobody truly knows the story behind the soldier who wears the coat. Only the soldier knows. He honored me with this because I gave his dog a home when he could no longer care for him and he knew I had admired the coat.

I do not know this gentleman personally, but was told he was so grateful we took his dog and gave him love. Well if he reads this, I hope he knows how grateful America is that he stood strong for us. Without veterans like him America would not be “The Land Of The Free.” Never take for granted our Armed Forces.

Without their courage, sacrifice and determination we would have no national security.  November 11th is an American National Holiday that celebrates all our military veterans who serve with honor for our protection. Most people have someone in their family who has served in the military.

How inspiring to think a person would put aside their own safety and freedoms for honor and duty to the American people. Because if you think about it, while a soldier serves they are at the mercy of the American people. Their civilian freedoms are put aside to protect your freedoms. Never forget that or take that for granted. Thank you to all veterans and their families who sacrifice, this November 11th and always.

See my special honor and share who you honor, visit my blog live online at https://www.positiveperksposts.com and catch up on Weekly Photo Perks and past Sunday Posts. Like and share your comments.

Truly,
Debbie London