Twelve to a box, Bradford American Legion Post 108 received 243 boxes of handmade balsam fir wreaths last week.

Now in just its third year, Bradford’s contribution to Wreaths Across America has gone from no wreaths at all, to 1,300, to this year’s 2,916.

More than three dozen volunteers set out Saturday morning to place an American-made wreath on the grave of each known American veteran buried in one of four Bradford-area cemeteries.

On National Wreaths Across America Day, usually the second or third Saturday in December, volunteers place the live wreaths on veterans’ headstones and say their names aloud.

The tradition, according to wreathsacrossamerica.org, began in Maine more than 30 years ago and has grown to include thousands of locations across the country. Established in 2007, the nationwide nonprofit’s mission is to “remember the fallen, honor those who serve, and teach the value of freedom.”

The local effort began Thursday morning when Ward Transport & Logistics delivered almost 14 full pallets of wreaths to be unloaded and stored at Bradford Sanitary Authority until this past weekend’s distribution.

Volunteers gathered at the Legion post on West Washington Street for a brief ceremony before heading to Oak Hill, St. Bernard, Willow Dale and Degolia cemeteries where 2,900 American service members have been laid to rest.

Any extras would be taken to and placed at McKean Memorial Park in Lafayette Township where 2,700 more veterans are buried.

Bob Witchen, event organizer with Post 108, said “Cassie Platko Wolfe at McKean Memorial is tickled pink to have us cover as many graves as we can.

“For next year, we want to try to see if we can cover up there,” he said, adding they plan to coordinate the effort with groups from the Smethport and Mount Jewett Legion posts.

Also toward that end, Witchen emphasized that only for the next month Wreaths Across America will sponsor a matching campaign through which every wreath purchased will be matched with one to double the post’s purchasing power. The promotion will be in effect through Jan. 16 and all purchases or donations are tax-deductible.

“We want to make a real big push that month to see how much we can get, how many wreaths we can get built up here early,” Witchen said. “It really worked well last year. It snowballed on us, we’ve really done fantastic.”

He noted the post currently has more than $10,000 in hand for wreaths, but at $17 each it would take about $49,000 to cover all four cemeteries again. “It cuts that down a lot if you do the two for one.”

Those interested in contributing can contact the Legion at (814) 368-8251, Bob Witchen at (814) 598-4183 or Larry Fox at (814) 596-0043.

Wreaths can also be ordered online and designated for Bradford American Legion Post 108. The post’s group number is PA0692P and its location code is PABACS.

Witchen also explained that contributors can specify where they would like the wreath to be placed. “If they can tell us a grave site or lot number, any info they have, or we will go out and locate the graves ahead of time for anyone who wants us to put them on.

“A lot of people just want to buy some wreaths and not specify here or there, they just want us to place them,” Witchen said. “It’s quite a project. Larry and I went out a couple of weeks ago and walked for four hours trying to find gravesites.”

Nationwide, more than 3 million veterans’ graves will be adorned with a handmade wreath. In 2023, Post 108 was 276th out of 4,200 locations for the number of wreaths sold and was 24th out of 358 in the state.

“That’s going to jump way up this year,” Witchen observed. “We more than doubled what we purchased.”

With help once again from the Bradford Sanitary Authority, volunteers will make the rounds next spring to pick them all up.

“They’ve (BSA) just been a Godsend to us — I don’t know how we’d do it with this many,” Witchen declared. “The cemeteries and Individuals don’t have to do anything; the Sanitary Authority brings its big trailer and goes from cemetery to cemetery with us, loading them on and disposing of them for us.”

The many volunteers who both place and retrieve wreaths include local students and athletes, fulfilling the organization’s goal of teaching future generations the cost of their freedom.

“It’s quite a well-respected organization,” Witchen said. “And it’s really starting to catch on in the schools, which is super.”