It was rainy and cold on Dec. 14, 2013, when nearly 60 people attended the Wreaths Across America Ceremony at Woodland Cemetery in Ironton.

Each of the 950 veterans graves in the Soldiers Section received a wreath. It was rainy and cold again this past Saturday when more than 60 volunteers showed up to the same place to remove said wreaths.

“I get the wreaths here, I make sure they get on the graves and I make sure they get off the graves,” Juanita Southers, event co-organizer, said. “After that, I have nothing to do with it (the disposal).”

Volunteers shuffled through the soggy grass putting collected wreaths in a pile around the base of a tree.

The bows from the wreaths are put into a trash bag and disposed of and workers from Judge O. Clark Collins’ community service work program eventually pick up the wreaths. Afterward the wreaths are chopped up and used as a mulch-like landscaping material.

Morrill Worcester, owner of Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine, donates wreaths for the nationwide event.

Men and women of all ages volunteered for the event, including members of the Pedro Missionary Baptist Church’s Discovery Club.

The club’s adviser, Becky Wiseman, said kids in the club volunteered as their community service project and will earn a pin for their efforts.