Legion sells wreaths for veterans

It may be hard to think about the holidays in the middle of the warm August days of summer, but a local veterans group is getting into the holiday mode already.
At its booth during the Festival in the Park last weekend, the Kasson American Legion began taking orders for Christmas wreaths. It is one of the major fundraisers during the year for the Legion.  
Last year the Legion sold 200 wreaths, but this year members would like to surpass that amount. The cost of the wreaths is $15. The fresh wreaths come from a company in Inver Grove Heights. 
The Legion is getting out into the community because members have found that many people don’t know about veteran wreaths. “It’s very important to us,” said Dale Wellick, one of the organizers of the fundraiser.
“The money is used for all veterans programs,” Wellick said. “We keep it pretty local.”
Wellick said the wreaths are a great way to honor and pay tribute to veterans. The Legion places wreaths on the gates of all 33 cemeteries scattered around Dodge County. There are even some “unknown” cemeteries like Forgotten Cemetery south of Dodge Center. 
Another cemetery located southwest of Dodge Center has two posts with a chain across them. “You would never know it’s a cemetery,” Wellick said. 
Wreath orders will be taken until Oct. 1. The wreaths arrive in Kasson just after Thanksgiving. The Legion plans to distribute the wreaths after a program on the morning of Nov. 24.
Legion members also plan to have a booth at Marigold Days in Mantorville in early September. 
This is the seventh year the Legion has been involved with wreaths. “We started it up, and we’re still in it,” Vic Denny of the Legion said. 
Anyone wishing to place a wreath order can call Wellick at 507-421-5674 or Denny at 507-259-2081.