A group of volunteers came together Saturday morning to make sure a giant metal wreath would be on display for the Christmas season on the Lincoln County Courthouse lawn.
The 20-foot tall, 800-pound wreath, built and donated by Mitchell Metal Products of Merrill, was not going to go up this year, noted Merrill Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Debbe Kinsey. The Chamber had been unable to coordinate the number of volunteers needed to erect the wreath, she said.
After seeing negative comments about the wreath on social media, Kinsey explained the situation and the story behind the wreath in a post on the Chamber’s Facebook page.
Mitchell Metal Products, a homegrown Merrill company, has a worldwide reputation as a premier manufacturer of wreath rings. The company also donates wreath rings for Arlington National Cemetery.
The giant metal wreath was built by Mitchell Metal Products four years ago after the Chamber stopped placing Christmas trees on the courthouse lawn due to safety concerns.
“I just couldn’t take any more of the bashing,” Kinsey said of what prompted her post. “I thought people should know the story about it.”
Kinsey’s Facebook post about the wreath received over 7,000 views and prompted many to volunteer their help in putting up the wreath.
“We thought it was the ideal decoration to represent Merrill,” Kinsey said. “Everyone seemed to agree and a bunch of people jumped on board and said they would be honored to put it up.”
About 30 people showed up at the courthouse Saturday morning to help with the wreath. Volunteers included Church Mutual employees, VFW members, downtown business people and others who assembled the wreath, decorated it and raised it into place.
Kinsey said she was “pleasantly surprised” at the number of volunteers who showed up Saturday.
“This is something we should be proud of,” she said.