CANTON — Townspeople displayed 18 wreaths for military veterans in Hillside Cemetery on Canton Point Road on Saturday in a Wreaths Across America ceremony.
More than 200 veterans are buried throughout the town’s 13 cemeteries, with 39 are at the Hillside Cemetery. They fought in wars as long ago as the Revolutionary and as recently as Vietnam.
The project was spearheaded by Canton Selectman Carole Robbins and Robyn McClintock, who contacted Wreaths Across America to have the cemetery added to the national list. They hope to continue the ceremony each year.
Robbins and McClintock grew up near the cemetery and have family members resting there. “My brother, father, step-grandfather are (veterans) here,” Robbins said.
Don Hutchins, who served in the U.S. Navy and is a veteran of the Gulf War, read names of the veterans who rested at Hillside before a moment of silence.
Franklin County Deputy Hart Daley played taps. Daley, a volunteer in Bugles Across America, has played in many services, including in Washington, D.C., for Wreaths Across America.
Canton Busyworkers 4-H Club members, ages 5 to 9, along with siblings put the wreaths on the graves.
“This is a way to teach the kids about community service,” said Natalie Sneller, a mother who leads the club, which is in its second year and includes 17 children.
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Chase Peters, 4, and Elizabeth Keene, 3, carry wreaths to place on the graves of veterans Saturday at Hillside Cemetery in Canton during a Wreaths Across America ceremony. (Sun Journal photo by Abigail Austin)
Gerrit Sneller, 6, of Canton, center, holds a flag with fellow members of the Canton Busyworkers 4-H Club as Franklin County Deputy Hart Daley plays taps in the distance. The Wreaths Across America ceremony honored veterans buried in Hillside Cemetery in Canton on Saturday. (Sun Journal Photo by Abigail Austin)
U.S. Navy veteran Don Hutchins reads the names of the 39 veterans buried in Hillside Cemetery in Canton during a Wreaths Across America ceremony Saturday. (Sun Journal photo by Abigail Austin)
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