It started with a 12-year-old boy who won a trip to our nation’s capital selling newspaper subscriptions as a paperboy for the Bangor (Maine) Daily News. As part of the trip to Washington, D.C., they toured the district and went to Arlington National Cemetery.
The cemetery left an imprint that he carried throughout his life. Morrill Worcester was that 12-year-old boy.
An act of kindness
Like most acts of kindness, the story behind the scenes is rich in details and entrenched in character and integrity. It is a story that demonstrates the power of one: one person with one act making a difference.
The day he stood before hundreds of thousands of graves at Arlington National Cemetery, the young boy felt a sense of responsibility for the sacrifices of the ones who made the United States of America a free country: our soldiers, our veterans, and their families.
Wreaths Across America began with a hardship that was turned into an opportunity.
In 1992, Morrill Worcester was producing wreaths in a warehouse in Columbia Falls, Maine. He’d graduated from the University of Maine, married his wife Karen, and started Worcester Wreath Company, founded in 1971. His biggest customer canceled its contract during the holiday season, a loss that could have cost the Worcester’s the company.
The surplus of 5,000 balsam wreaths needed to be used and Morrill remembered the day, at the age of 12, he visited the graves of those who gave their all for our country. That is when the makings of Wreaths Across America was created.
A quiet tradition
With the help of Maine’s Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made to place the overproduction of wreaths in one of the older, less-visited sections of Arlington National Cemetery, section 27. As the idea unfolded, many local individuals and organizations stepped forward to help. James Prout, owner of Blue Bird Ranch trucking company, generously provided transportation for the wreaths to Arlington, Virginia.
Volunteers from the American Legion and VFW Posts, along with community members, gathered to adorn each wreath with traditional red, hand-tied bows. The Maine State Society of Washington, D.C., helped organize the wreath-laying ceremony, which included a special tribute at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
For Morrill and Karen, the wreaths were a simple gesture to say thank you — an act that would remain quiet for over 15 years.
“One thing about Morrill,” Karen Worcester said, “He never does anything for the limelight. He is always hiding behind the scenes. The wreaths were a way for Morrill to say thank you to those who made this country great.”
The quiet tradition continued year after year. Each year the Worcester’s covered a different area of the cemetery.
A viral photo
“It wasn’t until a photo of the wreaths covered in snow went viral that everything started to change,” Wayne Hanson, Chairman of the Board of Wreaths Across America, explained. “In 2005, the project gained national attention. Thousands of people from across the country reached out wanting to help, wanting to replicate what we were doing at Arlington National Cemetery in their own national and state cemeteries, or simply to thank Worcester Wreath Company and Morrill for honoring our nation’s heroes.”
The requests for wreaths began pouring in from all over the country because people wanted to be a part of what Morrill and Karen were doing to honor veterans. Unable to fulfill the countless requests for wreaths, Morrill began sending seven wreaths to each state—one for each branch of the military, as well as one for POW/MIA recognition.
In 2006, with the support of the Civil Air Patrol and other civic groups, wreath-laying ceremonies were held at over 150 locations nationwide. The Patriot Guard Riders volunteered to escort the wreaths to Arlington, and the first “Veterans Honor Parade” was established to transport the wreaths down the East Coast in early December.
A non-profit is born
Like all great ventures, the annual wreath-laying grew, volunteers joined in, and it became evident that the desire to honor fallen heroes was much larger than Morrill or Karen had ever imagined. In 2007, the Worcester family, veterans, and other volunteers who had participated in the Arlington ceremony came together to form Wreaths Across America (WAA), a non-profit organization with the mission to Remember, Honor, and Teach.
By 2008, WAA had expanded to over 300 locations across the U.S., Puerto Rico, and 24 overseas cemeteries. More than 100,000 wreaths were placed on veterans’ graves by over 60,000 volunteers. That same year, December 13 was officially designated as Wreaths Across America Day by the U.S. Congress.
Behind every good act, there are those deeply rooted in the why. To speak with Karen and Morrill Worcester, one immediately realizes the love of country and the love for God. “The first year the wreaths were placed on the graves at Arlington National Cemetery, Morrill and Karen took the time to read the names of those who lost their lives, their ages, and where they were from as they placed the wreath on the grave,” Hanson said. “Morrill looked over at Karen and said, ‘Next year it isn’t going to be a mistake which causes us to bring 5000 wreaths here, I’m going to do it every year.'”
National Wreaths Across America Day
This year, Wreaths Across America will ship over 3.5 million wreaths to 4600 locations across America to pay tribute to our nation’s veterans. A veteran’s wreath is designed with ten balsam branches. Morrill describes each branch to honor the characteristics and qualities that make up an American veteran:
“This first branch represents the veteran’s faith in God; the second, love for one another; the third, the veteran’s strength, work ethic, and character; the fourth, honesty and integrity; the fifth, humility, selflessness, and modesty; the sixth, ambitions and aspirations; the seventh, optimism for his or her fellow Americans and our country; the eighth, concern for the future and future generations; the ninth, pride in carrying out his or her duties; and the final branch stands for the veteran’s hopes and dreams that will not always come true but left him or her with no regrets.”
National Wreaths Across America Day is Saturday, Dec. 14. The public is invited to participate by sponsoring wreaths and volunteering to place them on veterans’ graves.
Habersham County joined the wreath-laying tradition in 2022. There are dozens more ceremonies planned in counties across Northeast Georgia this year, including Banks, Barrow, Clarke, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Stephens, and Towns.
For more information on volunteering or to order a wreath, visit Wreaths Across America online.
This is the first in a series of articles on the history, mission, and extraordinary people behind Wreaths Across America that Now Habersham is publishing in the lead-up to this year’s ceremonies on Dec. 14.
