Events and Activities : Wreaths Across America Ceremony in Mt. Auburn to be held December 12

The small town of Mt. Auburn, located about 20 miles south of Waterloo, is hosting a Wreath Across America Ceremony on December 12, 2015. The ceremony will start at 11:00am and coincides with the national program, headquartered out of Columbia Falls, ME.

In 1992 the owner of a greenhouse in the area had a surplus of fresh made Christmas wreaths. Not knowing what do with them, and being a Veteran himself, rather than dispose of the wreaths, he contacted his state representative for ideas. It was decided that the wreath surplus would be taken to Arlington National Cemetery in Washington DC and be placed on Veteran graves. Thus was born Wreaths Across America.

The entire nation now celebrates Wreaths Across America. The goal of the organization is that every Veteran in the United States will have a wreath on their grave at Christmas. All efforts are completed by volunteers from tipping trees to placing the wreaths. The wreaths are made of hand cut Balsam tips in Maine and are put together by volunteers. A bright red hand tied bow compliments each wreath. The wreaths are then containerized and are trucked across the United States to over 1000 cemeterys enrolled in the program. Volunteer trucking firms transport them to their destinations.

Each cemetery in the program coordinates a ceremony on a specific Saturday each year at noon, eastern time. Since Mt. Auburn is in the central time zone, the ceremony occurs at 11:00am. Ruth Coots Intlekofer is the Location for Mt. Auburn. 'I love doing this for my hometown community, especially since I know several of the Veterans that have passed and many Veterans that are still with us. It is a time to Thank every single one of them' she said.

Last year was the first year for Mt. Auburn doing Wreaths Across America. The ceremony was well attended and the community was very pleased. The success is that friends and family from near and far are generous to provide donations that help purchase each $15 wreath so that every Veteran in the Mt. Auburn Cemetery will have a wreath on their grave for this Christmas season.

Other locations having ceremonies this year are: Red Oak Grove Cemetery in Tipton, IA Veterans Home & Cemetery in Marshalltown, Forest Cemetery in Oskaloosa, Graceland in Knoxville and Oakwood in Boone. All ceremonies will begin at 11:00am. Each ceremony is no longer than one hour.

Next year's Wreath Across America Ceremony will be December 17, 2016.

Visit: www.WreathsAcrossAmerica.org for more information or the I Love Mt. Auburn FB page.