Last month, wreaths were placed at the grave of every single headstone at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley as part of the Wreaths Across America campaign.
"Wreaths Across America is an opportunity, once a year, for everyone to get together and just say thank you to all the veterans who gave a portion of their life, or possible all of their life, for this great county," said Tom Draughon with the Nevada Veterans Coalition.
Now, it's time to remove those wreaths. A group of volunteers will be gathering them up on Friday morning. When the program first started here, the wreaths were just thrown away, at a considerable cost. Now, they're put to good use.
"So I spearheaded this deal about goats," said Roger Elliott, a member of the Patriot Guard. "So we feed the wreaths to the goats now, recycle them, and the goat farmers love it. They come here in hordes to get free snacks because we give them away, we don't sell them."
Every part of the wreaths is reused. The goats eat the greenery, the wire is recycled, and a local crafter takes the ribbons.
"We want to make sure these things are recycled and not put in a waste dump somewhere," Elliott said.
And just like when the wreaths are placed, volunteers play a big part when they're taken away. Hundreds of people show up every year to help.
"I didn't serve, so this is my way of giving back," Elliott said. "There's no false valor here; I support our veterans. I've been doing Wreaths Across America since the inception and I feel a part of it."
In Fernley, the Wreaths Across America program started in 2007 with 28 wreaths. Now, there is a wreath for every single grave at the cemetery - more than 8,000 of them. More than 2,000 people gathered for the December ceremony.
"So many people don't realize what a veteran gives during their time," Draughon said. "Whether it's in combat, or someone that considers themselves a pencil pusher, but with everybody joining in, it's teamwork."
Volunteers are welcome to help remove the wreaths this Friday, January 27, at 8:30 a.m. at the Northern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Fernley.
