1,000 volunteers clear holiday wreaths at Ft. Snelling Cemetery
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Close to 1,000 volunteers worked for hours to clean holiday decorations from Ft. Snelling Cemetery Saturday morning.
The effort, led by local Scout troops, has been happening for more than 20 years – but has grown each year.
The scouts divide the cemetery into sections and work to clear the wreaths, placed there months earlier by another volunteer group.
"It's a great time to be here to be reverent, showing respect for everyone who's here, and having fun with your friends," said Bruce Paulson, a volunteer organizer. "It's being a patriot. Being an American. Knowing that every person that's here has a story for their sacrifice for our country."
For troops like Ella Jensen, it's a personal effort.
"My great-grandpa from my grandpa's side, he served in World War 2, then I have my great-grandpa who served in World War One here too," Jensen said. "Usually at the end of (the event), me and my family – my mother and my brother here today, we go visit them afterwards."
"It means a lot for these families, especially the staff people here," Jensen said. "They've done so much to keep (the wreaths) in the ground, keep the gravestones nice and clean all year round. This is just our little thing that we can do to help out."