COLUMBIA FALLS, Maine — In the snowy forest in eastern Washington County, Morrill Worcester’s balsam fir trees stretch out across the landscape.
This large tract of woodland is the source for the deep green branch tips that are used for making balsam wreaths—tens of thousands of wreaths every day during the season—that will be placed on the graves of American veterans at Arlington National Cemetery.
Morrill and Karen Worcester say the idea of placing wreaths at Arlington began by chance, 33 years ago.
"I think I bought 8,000 wreaths more than we had orders for," Morrill Worcester recalled of the year it began.
"I did not want to throw them away. They were brand new, just made. I thought about what to do, thought about Arlington cemetery."
That’s how the idea of taking Maine wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery began. He says they got permission to place the wreaths in one section of the huge cemetery, made the trip down, and did it.
"And it was going to be a one-time thing. [There] wasn’t going to be any more, just that one time. I didn’t plan on having more left over. But the thing was so well received we didn’t want to stop, and here we are 33 years later."
Where they are, 33 years later, is remarkable. Karen Worcester said.
"We are hoping to have about 3 million [wreaths] this year, at 4,205 locations."
Wreaths Across America was formed after Worcester Wreath Company. Friends and volunteers had been taking some wreaths to Arlington each year for 14 years, placing them in a different section of the cemetery each year.
But in 2005, a photograph changed everything.
It was a beautiful photo of Arlington in fresh snow, with crisp lines of white headstones, each adorned with a green wreath with a red bow.
"That was the year the Pentagon photographer took that picture and put it on the website," Karen explained.
"And I tell you, talk about a life-altering experience."
The simple elegance of the wreath tribute to veterans clearly made an impression on all who saw the photo. And by the thousands, they reached out to the Worcester Wreath Company.
"His secretary said, 'Oh my God, we’ve got about 5,000 emails,' just pouring in by January 2006, and phone calls."
There sudden popularity of that image inspired donations, and requests for more wreaths. The Worcester's decided to create a not-for-profit organization to handle donations and mange the growing demand for wreaths at veteran cemeteries.
Wreaths Across America was born.
The organization now has thousands of volunteers around the country, who manage local wreath-laying ceremonies and coordinate with the larger, nonprofit entity. The annual convoy from Maine to Arlington draws veteran groups, Gold Star families, and volunteers from far and wide.
All of it funded by donations.
"We have some really good corporate donors [who have] been with us for years," Karen said, "but most of our donations come from individuals, from someone who wants to put a wreath on a grave."
On the National Wreaths Across America Day, Dec. 16, the prime focus will be on Arlington, where every grave will be honored with a Maine wreath. The same thing will happen at cemeteries and memorials all over the country, as well as at sites in the Pacific, the Normandy beaches in France and other American military cemeteries in Europe.
Some locations will have more wreaths than others, but nearly all will have something.
Wreaths Across America also has expanded to include other, year-round programs, such as mobile educational presentations that travel the country, and an online radio station that presents programs and podcasts about veterans and issues.
"The wreaths are a catalyst," Karen said, "A catalyst to teach."
Indeed, as volunteer executive director of Wreaths Across America, Karen said the organization has grown to be amount more than wreaths. She said it is dedicated to honoring and remembering America’s veterans and their families, and teaching young people about the sacrifices others have made, and continue to make, to ensure freedom.
Morrill Worcester said that same idea helped to fuel his original desire to take wreaths to Arlington, 33 years ago.
"I tell you, we’ve been very lucky as a family, what we have," Worcester said. "And it comes from the freedom we have in this country. That freedom comes from those people buried at Arlington."
Tens of millions of wreaths later, both say the commitment remains the same.