Wreaths Across America Emporia site coordinator Scott Burenheide is hoping the third time will be the charm for the 2026 Wreath Retirement activities coming up next month.
Weather conditions have twice postponed the planned wreath retirement day, which was originally scheduled for this past Saturday; however, it was moved to this coming Saturday due to the winter storm that blew through the area. With temperatures forecasted to be in the 20s once again this coming weekend, Burenheide says they have decided to move the retirement pick up day one more week to next Saturday, February 7th, at noon.
Burenheide says the weather is one of the things out of their control and they simply will continue to adjust as needed, noting this is not the first time they have had to reschedule due to an uncooperative Mother Nature.
That said, one thing that is in the control of the local community is the ability to lend assistance with Burenheide saying they will take all the volunteers they can get, with more than 2,000 wreaths needing to be collected. While the dates for the retirement day may have changed more than once, one thing that has remained the same is the directive for those wanting to volunteer, “Just show up.”
As you may already be aware, this year’s Wreaths Across America effort accomplished a goal that most similarly sized communities take close to a decade to accomplish in providing 100 percent coverage of all veteran grave sites inside of MapleWood Memorial Lawn Cemetery. Buerenheide has stated that from this point on, 100 percent coverage will be the goal for the community.
For more information on the upcoming retirement day activities or on Wreaths Across America in general, visit the event page on Facebook or visit WreathsAcrossAmerica.org.
