Last week, I wrote about several local organizations, who came together to honor veterans for Memorial Day in placing flags at the gravesites of servicemen and women; however, a group of Bristowans also joined efforts to collect monetary and artificial flower donations, assemble floral bouquets, and place those bouquets on the graves of veterans interred at Magnolia and Bristow City Cemeteries.
Wanting to pay tribute to veterans whose graves were without flowers, Letha Caudle decided to spearhead an effort to place floral bouquets on the graves of all veterans buried at Magnolia. She began by collecting donations of artificial flowers and money, gathering a group of volunteers along the way. Beverly Davis greatly assisted her by securing volunteers.
Caudle wished to thank all donors for their contributions, including those who wished to remain anonymous. Named donors included Beverly Davis, Cecelia Clark Cunningham, and the Morquecho family; however, due to various constraints, verification of additional donors was not possible by time of print.
Additionally, Caudle wished to thank all those who joined her on Thursday, May 23, and Friday, May 24, to help assemble the bouquets and place them on graves. Those volunteers included Mary Davis, Rebecca Bond, Carolyn Kuykendall, Sheryl Cortez, Fran Sneed, Scott Murphy, Beverly Davis, Ryker, Linda Schinbeck, Art Schinbeck, Diesal the dog, and Mike Murray.
Of note, around 350 veterans are buried in Magnolia Cemetery with more than 800 buried in the Bristow City Cemetery. Caudle stated the group placed flowers on all 350 graves at Magnolia Cemetery and managed to honor an additional 150 in the Bristow City Cemetery this year.