Wreaths Across America committee to honor veterans in two local ceremonies

Roger LaPointe, Fremont News-Messenger
·2 min read

OAK HARBOR - The Ottawa County Wreath Committee will bring Wreaths Across America to the veterans' graves in Clay Township, Allen Township and Marblehead cemeteries on Saturday.

"National Wreaths Across America Day is Saturday. On the 16th there will be over 1,500 participating locations across the country, with some overseas," said Sara Toris, Ottawa County Wreath Committee member. "Locally, there are Boy Scout troops involved, Girl Scout troops, the National Honor Society. We've got choir groups coming, VFW groups, American Legion, and a lot of families will come."

Wreaths Across America ceremonies will take place on Saturday in Clay Township, Allen Township and Marblehead.
Wreaths Across America ceremonies will take place on Saturday in Clay Township, Allen Township and Marblehead.

Toris said that this is the ninth year Wreaths Across America events will be taking place in Ottawa County.

The wreath committee raised $18,000 this year to fund the program with local donations. The funds will help the committee place more than 1,000 remembrance wreaths at the final resting place of Ottawa County heroes.

Ceremonies will be held at 11 a.m. in both the Clay Township Cemetery in Genoa and the Sackett Cemetery in Marblehead.

"There are over 20 cemeteries in Ottawa County, so we group them together for ceremonies at these locations," Toris said. "If we receive enough donations in a year, we will cover all the veteran graves across the county. If we don't receive enough donations in a year, we rotate through the cemeteries. We were able to raise enough donations this year to cover the Genoa area and the Marblehead area."

Wreaths Across America ceremonies will take place on Saturday in Genoa and Marblehead. More than 600 veterans interred in outlying small cemeteries in the Marblehead area will also be honored with wreaths.
Wreaths Across America ceremonies will take place on Saturday in Genoa and Marblehead. More than 600 veterans interred in outlying small cemeteries in the Marblehead area will also be honored with wreaths.

Locally, the committee is also including wreaths for the more than 600 veterans interred in the outlying Marblehead area cemeteries of Clemmons, St. Mary's Byzantine Catholic, Lockwood, Sackett, St. Joseph's Catholic, Russian Orthodox, St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Wolcott, Hartshorn, and Battefield.

To sponsor a wreath or make a tax deductible donation of any amount, mail donations to Wreaths Across America, 8444 W. Ohio 163, Oak Harbor, 43449. For more information contact Sara Toris at the Ottawa County Veterans Service Office at 419-898-2089.

rlapointe@gannett.com

419-332-2674

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Groups to lay wreaths to honor veterans interred at local cemeteries