AUGUSTA (AP) – A Down East company that has donated thousands of its Christmas wreaths to Arlington National Cemetery in time for the holidays is expanding the gesture to honor veterans in Maine and 10 other states.

And after that, maybe it will go for every veterans’ grave in the country, said Brent Hartford, general manager of Worcester Wreath Co. of Harrington.

“We’d like to, over the next five years, put a wreath on every one,” Hartford said Thursday. About 2.6 million veterans’ graves are located in national and state cemeteries alone, he said.

During the past decade, Worcester has donated more than 45,000 wreaths for graves at Arlington in Virginia. The company trucks the greenery down to the cemetery, which has more than 200,000 graves, and the wreaths are distributed in a section that receives few visitors.

Worcester is duplicating that effort in Maine and beyond. Teaming up with the American Legion, the company hopes to decorate every veteran’s grave site in Maine with a balsam fir wreath for the holidays.

The legion is also working with Worcester to bring the program to New Hampshire, Nebraska, Arizona, West Virginia, Montana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, Vermont and Connecticut.

Through legion posts in those states, the company is selling the wreaths for $19.95, which covers shipping and a $5 donation to the legion for its charities. Hartford said the price barely covers Worcester’s production costs, and Worcester is donating the first 100 wreaths going to each state.

“There isn’t a lot of money in it,” said Hartford, a Navy veteran. “It’s really for patriotism and to help the legion.”

He said the company, housed in a white-clapboard, former school house decorated with a giant red bow around the top, has received letters from all over the country about its annual Arlington project.

Decorating the wreaths becomes a community effort in the eastern Maine town of about 900 people, as residents of all ages come in and take turns at decorating the evergreen wreaths.

“It’s just a real feel-good program,” Hartford said.

American Legion leaders announced the expansion at a news conference in Augusta.

Herman Wright of Bath, commander of the legion’s Maine department, said several youth organizations, such as scouts and baseball, would likely receive donations through the program.

But making sure veterans are remembered is the central goal.

“We want to honor every veteran – all of them,” he said.

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On the Net:

Worcester Wreath Co.: www.worcesterwreath.com

AP-ES-11-13-03 1417EST

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