Highland Cemetery

LOCK HAVEN — Each December, the Wreaths Across America organization coordinates wreath-laying ceremonies at more than 1,400 locations across the United States, at sea and abroad. On Saturday, Highland Cemetery participated in National Wreaths Across America Day, decorating the burial sites and honoring the lives and contributions of the 150 veterans in the cemetery’s “Soldiers Circle.”“Highland became part of the National Wreaths Across America program in 2017. We did not promote it much as we did not know if we had any donations of wreaths. It ended up that we did. This is another NWAA event that Highland is proud to be a part of,” said David Wallace, the cemetery manager at Highland, who helped coordinate the event.General Dynamics SATCOM Tech, a State College-based company that manufactures satellite equipment for service and commercial entities made what was reported to be a $1,000 donation towards providing wreaths for the ceremony.I have been gathering and purchasing wreaths since 2011 and decorating Soldiers Circle myself. We made them from real pine and coat hangers. Over the years I have obtained about 80 wreaths. This will enable us to place a wreath (real or artificial) at the tombstone of each of the150 veterans at Soldiers Circle,” Wallace said.JOHN RISHEL/THE EXPRESSJennifer Oldt offered a riveting rendition of the National Anthem.Local veterans Terry Banfill and Don Hills were on hand as Honor Guard to present the colors as the event got underway.A prayer was said by Cindy Love, followed by a rendition of the National Anthem by Jennifer Oldt.“We are not just here to decorate grave stones and focus on the deaths of these veterans. It is an opportunity to honor them, their lives and sacrifices and their contributions. Across the country there are a thousand memorial sites just like this. We are proud to live in a free society, but freedom comes at a price,” Oldt said.Colonel Thomas Motel, a retired veteran of the United States Army, was on hand to present Wallace with a commemor...