On Friday, November 11th, in conjunction with Veterans’ Day, Hammond Lumber Company began its six-week fundraising effort by promoting online wreath-sponsorship donations for National Wreaths Across America Day. These wreaths are symbols of remembrance and placed on the graves of our country’s fallen servicemen and women. This annual tribute is held across the country every year and was started by the Worcester Wreath Company in 1992.
In addition to promoting wreath donations, we encouraged employees and the public to participate in “R.E.D. (Remember Everyone Deployed) Friday’s”, created to remind people of military heroes overseas and show that we are thinking of them.
The week of the ceremony, our chip trailer along with several hundred tractor trailers from across the country, made the journey to Columbia Falls, ME to pick up over 7500 remembrance wreaths.
On Saturday, December 17th, several box vans left the Belgrade branch and disturbed wreaths to several veteran cemeteries in Maine. The trucks were greeted by eager volunteers ready to honor, remember and teach as they lay each wreath. The tradition includes saying the fallen hero’s name as they are placed.
Maine Veteran Cemeteries stops and wreath counts:
- Togus National Cemetery in Chelsea, ME
- West Cemetery – over 3000 wreaths
- East Cemetery – over 2000 wreaths
- Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Augusta, ME
- Over 600 wreaths
- Maine Veterans Cemetery in Augusta, ME
- Over 1800 wreaths
Hammond Lumber Company and the Hammond team considers this event to be both a humbling and rewarding experience.