Barrington community honors veterans
There is a saying: “Many hands make light work.” On Dec. 19, at a few minutes before noon, people from various walks of life started to gather along the sidewalk adjacent to Evergreen Cemetery in Barrington.
Veterans groups, scout troops, work colleagues, family and friends, and individuals queued at one of two entrances, awaiting their turns to have registrations verified, and to be directed to a specific area of the cemetery, to participate in a wreath placement on identified veterans graves, honoring their service.
In 2020, Saturday, Dec. 19 was National Wreaths Across America Day, where individuals from all over the country planned to gather in local cemeteries to honor those veterans who have been interred over the years.
The Signal Hill, NSDAR chapter of Barrington, sponsored the event at Evergreen Cemetery, where nearly 700 wreaths were placed throughout the expanse of the cemetery grounds. All of the graves were honored with a live balsam wreath in under an hour.
Sincere thanks to all who placed wreaths, volunteered to work the event, sponsored the purchase of wreaths, and special thanks to the Barrington Police Department for traffic control.
Response to the event was so enthusiastic that pre-registration had to be closed at the beginning of December. Throughout the summer, the project logistics, spearheaded by Signal Hill member Deborah Edlund, underwent many reviews and changes, as the group tried to anticipate likely COVID-19 restrictions, recruit civic groups and individuals for the role of wreath placement, and raise funds to sponsor the purchase of the wreaths being placed.
Throughout the year, Edlund and her team walked the cemetery grounds, adding names to a list to be verified as veterans eligible for the honor, using public records and genealogy sites to complete the task.
The Signal Hill Chapter began this partnership with Wreaths Across America in December of 2019, when about 350 graves had been identified. Having verified additional names and grave locations, it is the group's hope to continue partnering with WAA for years to come, with the assistance of local Barrington citizens. For more information about Wreaths Across America, please visit www.WreathsAcrossAmerica.org/ILEGCA.
The Signal Hill, NSDAR Chapter, was founded in 1972, and is a volunteer women's service organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Since its founding in 1890 over one million women have joined both nationally and around the world. The local Barrington Chapter raises funds throughout the year and distributes them to 501(c)(3) organizations whose missions support that of NSDAR: historic preservation, education, patriotism, and conservation.
Membership in NSDAR is open to any woman age 18 and over who can prove lineal descent from a patriot of the American Revolution. For more information, visit signalhilldar.com, or contact Ruth Groth at rgroth@wowway.com.