A tall obelisk gravestone stands out among others in the Oak Grove cemetery. Collegian | Tess Owens

Wreaths Across America now serves four cemeteries in Hillsdale with a local chapter that puts wreaths at the gravestones of veterans each December.

Diane Paul and her husband, Greg, oversee the Hillsdale chapter, which serves Lakeview Cemetery, Oak Grove Cemetery, St. Anthony’s Cemetery, and Maplewood Cemetery. 

“I started volunteering with Wreaths Across America in 2012 in Toledo, and from there I was hooked, returning every year to lay wreaths until my husband and I moved to Hillsdale,” Diane Paul said. “Since no local cemeteries were associated with Wreaths Across America, we partnered with the organization to start a Hillsdale chapter.”

Although it is a national organization, Wreaths Across America is made up of local chapters that can be started by anyone with the appropriate support and leadership.

Between the four Hillsdale cemeteries, there is a need for about 1,500 wreaths to adorn the graves of veterans each year. Annually on Dec. 14, hundreds of local volunteers help lay the wreaths. 

According to Paul, once the wreaths begin to die, the Hillsdale College football team cleans them up.

Rob Rardin, a Marine Corps veteran and an assistant football coach at Hillsdale College, is responsible for setting up this opportunity for the team. Rardin says he came to know Greg and Diane Paul from the American Legion Post in Hillsdale, and when he learned about what they did through WAA, he wanted to help. 

“In 2023, I notified the team about this opportunity and what it means. Last year, 53 of our guys showed up on a Sunday at the cemetery. This year, almost 60 showed up, again on a Sunday,” Rardin said. “As our guys pick up the wreaths, they acknowledge the veteran buried there and say, ‘Thank you for your service.’ We were able to gather up more than 1,000 wreaths at two cemeteries within 45 minutes!”

Though wreath-laying is a continuous event for WAA, the group work throughout the year to honor veterans.

“In many American homes, every day there is an empty seat for one who is serving or one who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country and never came home,” the WAA website reads. “That is why the Wreaths Across America mission to Remember, Honor and Teach lasts all year long, far beyond the single day in December when we coordinate wreath-laying ceremonies.”

In the Hillsdale chapter of WAA, most of the work the Pauls do for the cemeteries involves coordinating fundraising endeavors.

“Thankfully, each year we’ve been able to raise enough funds to cover every grave,” Paul said. 

Though the wreath-laying ceremony takes place once a year, that special occasion is only made possible because of the financial support of others, Paul said. On June 15, the Pauls will host a golf outing to raise funds for this year’s wreaths. More information is on their Facebook page, “Hillsdale Wreaths Across America.”

“We are always in need of more help, and with additional support we could add more cemeteries to the organization,” Paul said.

Brad Birzer, a professor of history, lives near Oak Grove Cemetery and has led tours of its grounds.

“There are at least 300 Civil War veterans in the Oak Grove cemetery, and the oldest grave I’ve found is a War of 1812 veteran,” Birzer said.

To remember those of all generations who sacrificed for our freedoms, Paul said laying the wreaths each year keeps their memory alive.

“You die twice: once when you physically die, and once when no one says your name anymore,”  Paul said. “This is why when the wreaths are laid on the gravestones, the volunteer says the veteran’s name and thanks them for their service.”