The Town of Vernon and the Vernon Cemetery Department will join with Wreaths Across America to honor veterans and those who have given their lives in service to our nation. The ceremony will begin promptly at noon this Saturday, December 18th, at the Lugg Memorial Field in the Grove Hill Cemetery located at 22 Cemetery Avenue in Vernon. The public is invited to attend.
Veterans and volunteers will place wreaths on memorials to honor members of the armed forces, the U.S. Merchant Marine, and prisoners of war and those still missing in action. The ceremony will occur at the same time wreathes are being placed on the graves of those buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, and more than 3,000 cemeteries across the nation.
“Grove Hill Cemetery is sacred ground and contains the remains of men and women who have served our nation from the Civil War until today,” Vernon Mayor Dan Champagne. “Wreaths Across America asks us to remember our fallen service members, to honor those who have served and to teach young people about the value of freedom. We are pleased to do that here in Vernon.”
Lugg Memorial Field is a special section at Grove Hill Cemetery that is set aside for veterans and their spouses.
A team of volunteers, led by former Town Council Member Polly Schaefer, coordinates each year’s Wreaths Across America ceremony.
Wreaths Across America traces its origin to 1992, when Morrill Worcester of the Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington, Maine, had a number of surplus wreaths as the holiday season was drawing to a close. Recalling a boyhood trip to Washington, D.C., which included a visit to the sacred grounds of Arlington National Cemetery, Worcester contacted his senator and donated 5,000 wreaths to be placed at headstones in an older section of the cemetery, where visitors were less frequent.
What began as one man’s gesture has grown into a national movement. In 2006 Wreaths Across America was formed as a non-profit corporation and works with local organizers on wreath-laying events across the nation. The organization’s goal is to show gratitude and appreciation to veterans during the holiday season. For more information, visit: This Website.
Lugg Memorial Field at Grove Hill Cemetery was created to accommodate requests from veterans and their families for additional cemetery space. It was named in honor of Harry H. Lugg, a World War II Navy veteran, former state legislator and public servant from Rockville.
Vernon’s Cemetery Department manages five historic cemeteries and encourages people to visit them to take in the history and natural beauty. In addition to Grove Hill Cemetery in the Rockville section of Vernon, the Cemetery Department manages the Old Burial Ground of North Bolton on Bamford Road, Elmwood Cemetery off Cemetery Road, Valley Falls Cemetery off Valley Falls Road and the Southwest Cemetery in the Dobsonville section of Vernon.
“Our cemeteries are not only places for families to memorialize their loved ones, but for all people to find a place of respite,” said Travis Clark, Vernon’s Cemetery Superintendent. “We work hard to make our cemeteries beautiful places where people can find solitude and silence, but also get a sense of the history of our community and those who came before us. We also hope people enjoy the natural environment and appreciate the architecture.”