Wreaths program seeks rebar donations
Submitted Photo Civil Air Patrol cadets and a volunteer install rebar crosses at a past Wreaths Across America event in Rosehill Memorial Park cemetery.
Submitted Photo Volunteers and Civil Air Patrol cadets put up crosses to hold wreaths in the veterans section at Rosehill Memorial Park at a past event.
Submitted Photo Civil Air Patrol cadets and a volunteer install rebar crosses at a past Wreaths Across America event in Rosehill Memorial Park cemetery.
Submitted Photo Volunteers and Civil Air Patrol cadets put up crosses to hold wreaths in the veterans section at Rosehill Memorial Park at a past event.
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The Minot chapter of Wreaths Across America is preparing for a historic expansion of its mission at Rosehill Cemetery.
Through partnership with the City of Minot and generous community donors, families will have the opportunity to honor every veteran laid to rest at Rosehill Cemetery, nearly 3,000 in total. With the remainder of support in place, Wreaths Across America is now seeking community donations of rebar for crosses, or cross funding, to complete the project. Any amount is appreciated and will directly support wreath placement for future veteran ceremonies.
Wreaths Across America is partnering with Minot Area Community Foundation, which has secured a shed donor for increased cross storage. Souris Valley Ready Mix is donating concrete for the shed pad for which Knife River Corp. will be providing the concrete crew and forms.
Students of Minot North High School's welding department and the Quentin N. Burdick Job Corps Center welding program will fabricate the crosses as part of the Wreaths Across America youth education mission. Robert Lewis, welding instructor at Minot North, has crosses in production, thanks to a generous rebar donation his department is passing forward to our veterans.
In previous years, Wreaths Across America in Rosehill was limited to the two closed veterans' sections, covering about 950 graves. The newly approved expansion includes roughly 2,000 additional veterans scattered throughout the cemetery.
Wreaths Across America coordinator Robyn Stoner offered a hopeful outlook as the expansion project advances.
"We hope to be able to be fulfilling our wreath goals for all of Rosehill by the 2028 ceremony. For 2026, Rosehill Cemetery's annual Cross Planting Day is this weekend. The crosses we have now will be planted before the ground freezes and will hold wreaths for veterans with flat grave markers during this year's Wreaths Across America ceremony. If Mother Nature grants us a bit of grace, a second cross planting session will be scheduled in November to accommodate the newly created crosses as they come in," Stoner said.
Veterans with standing headstones throughout Rosehill will receive a wreath laid against their headstone. But many of these heroes rest under flat grave markers, which require welded rebar crosses to secure wreaths during North Dakota's winter weather. Due to year-round activity in the cemetery, the crosses of those veterans with flat grave markers will receive wreaths standing together in memoriam within two other sections at Rosehill.
"This expansion is a milestone for our community," added Stoner, whose work with the Civil Air Patrol cadet program continues to fuel the spirit behind the Wreaths Across America mission. "Honoring every veteran at Rosehill, and guiding our cadets to uphold that commitment, is both a privilege and a responsibility. Wreaths Across America and Civil Air Patrol are profoundly grateful for the partners and donors who make this work possible."
Wreaths Across America is calling on the Minot community to help plant crosses on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m. at Rosehill Cemetery. A further call for cross planting will be announced in November and announced on MinotWreaths.org and its social media.
Businesses or individuals interested in donating rebar or supporting the project may email MinotWreaths@gmail.com for details. Donations can be sent to CAP/MW, 2400 N Broadway, Suite 3, Minot, ND 58703; make checks payable to The Service Collective.