MARBLEHEAD — When an email arrived announcing that Marblehead’s Wreaths Across America program would be discontinued this year, two local women refused to let the tradition fade.
Longtime residents Kim Crowley and Emily DeJoy, both with family ties to the military, learned that the town’s former coordinator had stepped down and that no one had volunteered to continue the effort. Determined not to let thousands of local veterans go unrecognized, they immediately stepped in to organize the event.
“There’s no way we can’t do this,” said Crowley, whose father-in-law served in the Air Force and grandfather in the Army. “It’s a simple, meaningful way to honor our veterans, and Marblehead has always been such a patriotic town.”
Wreaths Across America is a national nonprofit that coordinates the placement of holiday wreaths on veterans’ graves each December. The Marblehead effort covers more than 2,500 veterans’ graves, each wreath costing $17.
The annual ceremony, held on Dec. 13, includes the National Anthem, local veterans, and community members reading aloud the names of those being honored.
“It’s a spiritual day for the town,” DeJoy said. “It brings everyone together — veterans, families, Scouts, and neighbors — to pause and remember.”
To reignite local support, Crowley and DeJoy partnered with the Marblehead VFW Post 2005, which will host a fundraiser on Friday, Oct. 18, from 8-11 p.m. The event will feature Nick and Brendan’s Band, raffles, and donation tables where residents can contribute toward sponsoring wreaths.
So far, the community response has been strong. Donations have come not only from Marblehead but from Florida, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire, as word spread online.
“It’s amazing how quickly people responded,” Crowley said. “We had about 110 wreaths already sponsored when we started, and just from one weekend at the Fall Festival, we added around 80 more.”
In past years, the effort has drawn volunteers from all corners of town — Boy Scouts, police, firefighters, and families — to help unload truckloads of wreaths arriving from Maine in the early morning hours.
“I remember one year we were at Waterside Cemetery at 4 a.m., unloading a giant tractor-trailer in the dark,” Crowley recalled. “The number of people who showed up just to help, it was inspiring.”
This year’s wreath-laying ceremony will once again take place at Waterside Cemetery, with about 40 volunteers expected to help unload the delivery and at least 50 to place wreaths on graves.
Both organizers emphasized that this project is bigger than they are.
“In times when it feels like people are divided, something like this brings everyone together,” DeJoy said. “It’s a way to focus on gratitude and shared purpose.”
Crowley said, “When it comes to veterans, we don’t turn our backs — especially this town. I think this town is extremely patriotic that way.”
Residents can sponsor a wreath or volunteer by visiting the official Wreaths Across America–Marblehead page.
“Please come out on Oct. 18 to the VFW fundraiser,” Crowley added. “It’s a great chance to support our veterans, enjoy live music, and see the VFW in action. They do so much good for this town.”
