The Durango chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution will place wreaths on veterans’ graves at 10 a.m. Saturday as a part of an annual national event. The six locations in La Plata and Archuleta counties are: Hilltop Cemetery in Pagosa Springs; Bayfield Cemetery; Ignacio East Cemetery; Ignacio West Cemetery; Crestview Memorial Garden east of Durango at U.S. Highway 160 and Highway 172; and Greenmount Cemetery in Durango.

In 1992, the Worcester Wreath Co. in Harrington, Maine, had an excess of wreaths. The owner of the company, Morrill Worcester, decided to take the wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery and place them in the older sections, where he noticed there were fewer and fewer visitors each year.

“He had a surplus of wreaths that he decided to put on veterans’ graves, and then he just started donating them every year,” said DAR Sarah Platt Decker Chapter spokeswoman Lesa Barker.

Worcester’s actions began to catch on with other organizations, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. Many of the various national and local organizations donated or volunteered their time to help him make and lay down as many wreaths as possible around the country.

“It became a nonprofit,” Barker said. “We try to place wreaths on as many veterans’ graves as possible.”

The Wreaths Across America organization was officially formed in 2007 with a national network of volunteers laying an average of 7,000 wreaths at more than 1,000 locations.

In 2020, the DAR Sarah Platt Decker chapter joined forces with WAA and began soliciting donations for wreaths, Barker said. Local Durango businesses, residents and sponsors helped the chapter collect 100 wreaths during its inaugural year. In 2022, an influx of donations and volunteers helped raise that number to 654.

“It’s important to honor the services of our vets,” Barker said. “The wreaths are a visual representation of that.”

Honor guard ceremonies will also be conducted this year at the Greenmount and Hilltop cemeteries. Veterans and members of the community are welcome to attend any of the ceremonies.

Besides local cemeteries, DAR will lay wreaths on veterans’ graves across the country with major ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, Pearl Harbor Memorial, Bunker Hill, Valley Forge and various Sept. 11 memorial sites.

The wreaths will be left on the graves until mid-January, and then will eventually be collected and recycled.

molsen@durangoherald.com