SHS Vo-Ag Students, Volunteers Pay Respect to Fallen Veterans

A group of Suffield High School agriscience students showed respect for fallen veterans Thursday morning as they placed flowers at veterans’ graves in four of the town’s cemeteries.

Rachel Liberty, a senior at SHS, has participated in the project throughout her high school career. Liberty said the annual event is very important because of the support it gives veterans.

John Woods, a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) hall in Suffield said he places more than 900 flags at veterans’ graves each year with help from local Boy and Girl Scout troops. This year's flags were placed during the previous weekend, Woods said.

On Thursday Woods was placing geraniums at the graves with the help of students and a few other volunteers. The volunteers visited Suffield Cemetery in the center of town, West Suffield Cemetery on Mountain Road, Woodlawn Cemetery on Bridge Street and St. Joseph Cemetery on Hill Street.

Woods said he has been placing flags and flowers on the graves of veterans for more than 40 years.

It would be a lot of work for one person to do all six cemeteries in town, Woods said. He estimated that without student and volunteer help it would take a week to fix the large amount of flowers to the graves.

Woods said the students like to do it and it gives them a sense of patriotism. It also allows them to learn about the sacrifices veterans have made.

SHS senior Chelsea Murphy felt proud about being able to place the flowers on the graves.

“It shows respect to the fallen,” she said.

Emily Svindlind, a junior at SHS, feels like the troops don’t get enough respect. For her, placing the flowers is a way to give back to veterans because of the significant contributions and serious sacrifices they have made.

Senior Master Sergeant Robert Cross, who was volunteering alongside the students, said he thought the project and the student involvement were both great.

Cross has been active in the National Guard for the past 20 years and has been overseas numerous times with the Air Force.

Woods said that Boy Scout Nick Cere helped map out all the veterans’ graves by reading every single headstone at West Suffield Cemetery for his Eagle Scout project. Cere’s map helped Woods find the veterans’ graves as a landscaping crew mowing the cemetery had inadvertently destroyed marking flags.

Woods said the grave markers cost between $5 and $10 and he replaces at least 50 to 60 annually as they are destroyed and otherwise displaced. The town pays for the markers, he said.

Woods said agriscience students grow between 350 and 400 geraniums for the project, while the rest come from the Leahey Farm, in operation since 1905 and is located near the school on Taintor Street.

Agriscience teacher Laura LaFlamme said the students start growing the flowers from cuttings in January LaFlamme said she loves the idea that students plant the flowers, grow them, and then bring them out to the different cemeteries.

LaFlamme said about 80 percent of the students have been involved with the project, which started in 2006.

“It’s eye opening to see how many soldiers have served from Suffield,” LaFlamme said.

LaFlamme said she loves it when the high school greenhouse is full, but also when it is empty because it allows her students fill it back up with flowers.