CARIBOU, Maine — In the place of a formal ceremony, people laid wreaths on the graves of veterans and military spouses Friday, ahead of the weekend snowstorm, at Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery in Caribou.
The National Weather Service in Caribou had central and northern Aroostook County under a winter weather watch, with six to 13 inches of snow possible throughout the weekend. Rather than risk travelers’ safety, the cemetery maintenance crew and volunteers decided to lay the more than 400 wreaths early and cancel the ceremony planned for Saturday.
The events would have been part of Aroostook County’s Wreaths Across America celebration, which dates back to 1992 when Morrill Worcester of Harrington began delivering wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery.
Saturday’s ceremony would have included members of Caribou’s VFW Post 9389, the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery Committee, the Presque Isle Civil Air Patrol, Boy Scout Troop 186, the Aroostook County Amateur Radio Association, Defense Financing Accounting Services, Loring Job Corps Color Guard, Cary Medical Center, Northern Light A.R. Gould Hospital and Houlton Regional Hospital.
“I hope that people still visit [the cemetery] and see the wreaths,” said Andre Dumas, Aroostook County’s Wreaths Across America chairperson. “It’s our way of making sure we remember the veterans buried here, at Arlington and overseas.”
