List of current towns participating in 2021:
Dover, Pine Hill Cemetery
Dover, St Mary’s Cemetery
Barrington
Rollinsford
New Durham
Newmarket
Epping
Raymond
FAQ: How do I do this in my town?
- Identify the cemetery
- Talk to the town, usually public works or one of the cemetery trustees; tell them your idea
- Walk the stones and count the number of veterans. Some will be hard to read but you’ll figure it out fast. Feel free to talk to them and say hello. Remember, when you state their name they live agin, even for that brief moment. Hint: ask for a map of the cemetery if available. This will help you determine how many wreaths should go to each section when dividing volunteers.
- Get your wreath count to Matt Mayberry as soon as you can. Call 603.969.7077
- Begin finding friends who will buy a wreath(es)
- Ask friends to join you on December 11th to help with the placement
- Ideally before the snow falls, return to the cemetery and flag the stones with an orange utility flag. Many stones are flat and ground level, you may not be able to find them under the snow. Please the flag where the center of where the wreath should go. When you place the wreath, remove the flag. Matt does his flagging over Thanksgiving weekend. Family and friends are around to help and you get your steps in to burn off pumpkin pie!
- After the 2nd weekend in January plan to return to the cemetery to remove the wreaths. This is NOT the responsibility of the town, it is YOURS and your group. Disposal is a challenge and we will have a large dumpster to accept the wreaths. They can’t be composed because of the metal. You can do a bonfire. You may opt for artificial wreaths in which case consider where you will store them for the next year. We found large plastic totes work well and can be stacked in a corner.
This is a great service project for Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Rotary Clubs and veterans groups.