Colony Club Members Participate in "Wreaths Across America" Day

By DOUG OTTO Colony Club of Ocean City members recently took part in a national effort to honor the service of veterans by placing wreaths on graves at the Gerald M. Thornton Veterans Cemetery of Cape May County. Each December, the Wreaths Across America (WAA) organization asks local groups to remember and honor veterans by conducting wreath-laying ceremonies at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 2,100 additional locations in all 50 states. “The Colony Club was pleased to have the opportunity to join a grateful nation in saying ‘thank you’ to our veterans,” said Cathy Solarski, chair of her club’s Wreaths Across America Committee. “Our club members donated funds and sponsored 68 wreaths, which were matched with 34 additional wreaths by the WAA.” Fran Worrell, Colony Club of Ocean City president, places a memorial wreath on a grave. Ocean City’s Colony Club is part of the General Federation and New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs and plans to expand its outreach efforts in 2021 to include any individuals or other organizations interested in sponsoring wreaths. The club is a nonprofit organization dedicated to developing and supporting programs and projects that improve the community. Seventeen Colony Club members along with 15 family members and friends attended this year’s wreath ceremonies, which included an invocation by military personnel and a verbal recognition by name of each honored veteran. The wreaths are hand-crafted of balsam vines and hand-tied with red velvet bows at the Wreaths Across America headquarters in Columbia Falls, Maine, and then shipped to each ceremony location. More information about the Colony Club of Ocean City can be found at: https://colonyclubocnj.wordpress.com. Ceremonial wreaths and American flags adorn the gravesites.