Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
A flag and wreath rest on the grave of Charles McCory, a veteran of the Grand Army of the Republic. He is one of four Civil War veterans buried at Steptoe.
Steptoe sixth, seventh and eighth graders brave adverse weather conditions Friday when they placed wreaths on the graves of 105 veterans who are buried in the Bethel Cemetery. They took special precautions to keep the wreaths from being displaced by the wind.
Veterans participating in the Steptoe ceremony Saturday, from the right, were Roy Lord, US Army; Al Cochrane, US Marine Corps; Donald Henderson, US Navy; James Lemon, US Air Force, and Gary Cooper, US Army Reserves. ROTC cadets Fickle and Bowman completed the lineup which honored all five branches of military and those missing in action.
Jared Thompson, Jonathon Fickle and Phillip Bowman, from the left, made up the Army ROTC honor guard from Washington State University during the ceremony at Bethel Cemetery.
A ceremony to place memorial Christmas wreaths at the graves of veterans was conducted Saturday under sunny skies at Steptoe's Bethel Cemetery. The wreaths were placed at the graves of 105 military veterans in Steptoe as part of a new national remembrance program, "Wreaths Across America," based in Columbia Falls, Maine.
The project was also extended to the Colfax cemetery.
The wreaths at Steptoe were placed on the graves Friday by Steptoe School students under the supervision of Principal Eric Patton and teacher Corey Baerlocher. The students were credited for taking on the task in terrible windy conditions by Cherry Alice Van Tine, organizer of the event. The veterans' graves at the cemetery were marked by flags and students placed the wreaths flat on the graves because of the high winds.
Saturday's observance included area veterans who placed wreaths on tripods in front of the cemetery's flag pole to represent each branch of military service and soldiers missing in action.
Veterans participating were Roy Lord, Allen Cochrane, Donald Henderson, James Lemon and Gary Cooper.
Van Tine read a short tribute, and the program concluded with the playing of "Taps."
Veterans' graves at the Steptoe Cemetery date back to three soldiers and a nurse who served with the Grand Army of the Republic during the Civil War and came west later in their lives.
The Army ROTC students from WSU served as an honor guard and posted the colors.
They included Jared Thompson, Jonathon Foickle and Phillip Bowman.
The ceremony at Bethel Cemetery was one of a few conducted around the state Saturday for the new national event. Wreaths were also posted at the state Veterans' Cemetery at Medical Lake.
Van Tine said a mixup in the shipment of wreaths from Maine led to another shipment to the Steptoe project and the wreaths were turned over to the Colfax cemetery.
Lemon, representing the Colfax Legion Post, reported the wreaths were placed on 117 veterans' graves at Colfax.
The wreaths were placed by Lemon, Van Tine, Craig Corbeill and daughter Haley and cemetery sexton Joe Rupe.
Lemon reported the goal of the group will be to locate all the veterans' grave in the cemetery and place wreaths on them for Christmas.
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