‘Wreaths Across America’ a transformative experience for WPD officers

By Lorraine Glowczak

After five years volunteering as police escorts for the Wreaths Across America (WAA) caravan, providing safety at intersections as it traveled through Maine, Windham Police Department (WPD) Detective Eugene Gallant and Sergeant Jason Burke received an opportunity this year to participate in the entire six-day convoy that travels to Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington D.C.

Windham Police DCetective Eugene Gallant and Sgt. Jason
Burke helped to lay 247,000 wreaths on the graves of fallen
soldiers at Arlington National Cemetery as part of the annual
Wreaths Across America event. They experienced many
meaningful moments on the trip and say it made a
significant impact on their lives. SUBMITTED PHOTO   

In its 30th year, this annual 730-mile one-way procession begins at the Worcester Wreath Company in Harrington, Maine where the wreaths are made and then delivered the first week of December. Upon arrival, Det. Gallant and Sgt. Burke helped to lay 247,000 wreaths, transported in 18 semi-trailers, onto the graves of fallen soldiers. They both agreed that laying wreaths and saluting fallen soldiers were very humbling experiences.

“Gene and I thought it was a great way to honor our soldiers and the people who sacrificed their lives for our country and the freedoms offered here,” Burke said. “Since we began escorting for WAA, it became a bucket list item for us to travel to Arlington to show our appreciation, so when the opportunity arose to be a part of this convoy, we jumped at it.”

Gallant and Burke also participated in wreath-laying ceremonies at the William H. Taft Memorial, JFK Memorial, RFK Memorial, USS Maine Memorial, the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. They also paid their respects by rendering a salute at the gravesite of fellow WPD officer Justin Hudnor’s grandfather, a World War II veteran. Although there were many significant events that took place during the six-day period, the sergeant and detective shared two meaningful experiences.

“During the trip to D.C., we made many stops along the way at various New England towns,” Gallant said. “At one stop at a War Memorial in New Jersey, a woman approached us and asked us to transport a stone to Arlington. The stone had the name of her son engraved on it. He was stationed in Afghanistan and was on a convoy detail when he was hit and killed by an IED [improvised explosive device]. She asked us to take him. One of the truckers [delivering the wreaths] was a veteran who had a tour in Afghanistan and asked if he could take her son to D.C. with him. Of course, we gave the stone to the trucker to travel with a fellow comrade. This is an experience that Jason and I definitely did not expect. This made a great impact on us.”

Another significant experience happened while placing 184 wreaths at the 9/11 Pentagon Memorial, a memorial for those who did not survive the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks. Burke said that a Pentagon Police lieutenant explained the monument and what the layout meant.

“The direction of the benches signifies the direction the plane flew into the building,” Burke said. “The names on the benches are laid out so that if you are looking toward the sky, it represents those on the plane. The names on the ground are of people in the building. It is a very powerful and meaningful memorial that Gene and I would encourage all to attend.”

The WAA tradition began in 1992 when the Worcester Wreath Company had a surplus of 5,000 wreaths, and the owner of the company, Morrill Worcester recalled a powerful experience of his own. He knew immediately what he had to do with the extra wreaths.

The story began when Worcester was 12 years old in 1963. He won a trip to Washington D.C. while working as a delivery boy for the Bangor Daily News.

“His first trip to our nation’s capital was one he would never forget, and Arlington National Cemetery made an especially indelible impression on him,” the Worcester Wreath Company website stated. “This experience followed him throughout his life and successful career, reminding him that his good fortune was due, in large part, to the values of this nation and the veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.”

So, in 1992, Worcester remembered his boyhood experience at Arlington, and he realized he had an opportunity to honor our country’s veterans. “With the aid of Maine Senator Olympia Snowe, arrangements were made for the wreaths to be placed at Arlington in one of the older sections of the cemetery that had been receiving fewer visitors with each passing year.”

The tradition continued, and in 2007, Wreaths Across America became a non-profit organization.

Although U.S. veterans are honored and remembered on Memorial Day and Veterans Day, Sgt. Gallant and Det. Burke understand more profoundly the appreciation the veterans deserve daily.

“We like to encourage others to honor and remember those who have sacrificed so that we may have the freedom to live the life of our dreams,” Gallant said.

For more information about the Worcester Wreath Company, one can peruse the company’s website at www.worcesterwreath.com. To learn more about Wreath Across America go to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org.<

Couple creates enduring connections through memories of a special boat

Roger LeBlanc stands beside his 1972 California
Sidewinder boat as it makes its transition to
being completely refurbished for its 50th
anniversary party this summer.
SUBMITTED PHOTO 

By Lorraine Glowczak

When Roger LeBlanc of Windham inherited a small rundown ski boat in 2009, he was uncertain what to do with it.

“I kept it for a while, but eventually, I wasn’t sure if I should just scrap it or refurbish it,” LeBlanc recalls. “But my family reminded me that I would never be able to let it go.”

LeBlanc’s 1972 California Sidewinder wasn’t just any old boat. It came with heartfelt memories of youth and summers well spent on Cape Cod with what became a large adopted family. The boat and all the experiences that came with those many summers have guided LeBlanc’s life, even leading him to the shores of Little Sebago Lake in Windham.

It all began when LeBlanc was 6 years old and met Mrs. Jean McManus while attending Littleton Elementary School in Littleton, Massachusetts.

“My second-grade gym teacher, Mrs. McManus, and her husband Warren didn’t have children. However, they wanted to help out families in need so they ‘fostered’ those students on Saturdays during the summer by taking us to the beach,” LeBlanc, who came from a family of 11 children, said. “Looking back, I can see now that we were really poor, but my parents did such a good job at raising us and giving us a good life, we had no clue that we were considered a ‘family in need’.”

Eventually, the gym teacher and her husband, a Commissioner of Rehabilitation in Massachusetts at the time, purchased a small cottage along the waters of Cape Cod and the Saturday excursions to the beach became life on Cape Cod all summer long.

“At first, there were just three of us kids, and we called ourselves the ‘McFranle’ family – which included the first two letters in all of our last names,” LeBlanc said. “But Jean and Warren kept ‘adopting’ more kids, and our non-traditional summer family continued to grow.”

The ‘family’ included people she met on her travels through Europe, including friends from Sweden to Italy as well as many students in need from Littleton.

“One person was a family friend of Jean. His name was Fabio Ventura, and he didn’t speak English at first,” Leblanc said. “Fabio came to the Cape eight or nine summers in a row until he got married. We became best friends and are still friends today.”

The growing “McFranle” family enjoyed the New England sun, playing games on the beach, and swimming. But things got more exciting when the McManuses purchased the California Sidewinder in 1972. LeBlanc was 17 years old.

“We would ski all day long,” LeBlanc said. “That boat would run six to seven hours a day. When we started the engine in the morning, Jean would yell through a bullhorn from the front porch to the dock, ‘Warm it up before you take it out.’”

Although the kids’ days were filled with fun and adventure, the husband-and-wife duo made sure their adopted family had plenty of learning opportunities, preparing them for adulthood.

“We all were required to work,” LeBlanc said. “My first job was at 14, working at a Howard Johnson’s as a short-order cook. We all worked the night shifts so we could swim and ski during the day.”

The McManuses also required them to pay $15 per week to help out with the gas for the boat and the food they ate. LeBlanc said it was a minor donation for the amazing return.

“We were also expected to get to know the neighbors, and we had to help with chores including pulling milfoil out of the water that was growing around the dock,” LeBlanc said. “The cottage was located in-between two cranberry bogs, and while the bogs were being fertilized, so was the milfoil. Unfortunately, we didn’t know as much then as we know now about fertilizer and milfoil.”

LeBlanc recalls the times when he would go on dates. “Jean made sure I knew my manners, gave me mints to put in our pockets, sprayed me with Aqua Velva, and made sure I was dressed well. I remember her advising me as I walked out the door, ‘Remember to keep yourself above reproach.’"

Eventually, the LeBlanc’s summer experiences at the McManus’ cottage ended when he graduated and went to college and joined the military. However, this did not prevent him from visiting the couple when he came home during winter breaks.

“This actually was a precious time for me as I got to know them more personally,” LeBlanc said.

LeBlanc eventually met his wife, Mary Parisi, and his own family grew to include three sons; Joe, Matt, and Roger Jr. and one daughter, Danielle, who now lives in Cumberland. Although his military career led him to Hawaii, he and the McManus couple never lost touch – each visiting one another every year - either in Hawaii or Cape Cod, where his own children got to ski and ride in the old ’72 California Sidewinder.

The McManuses and LeBlanc continued to remain close until Jean’s death at the age of 70 in July 2009 (her husband passed away six years earlier at the age of 65 in 2003).

It was upon McManus’ death that LeBlanc and her five other “children” inherited the cottage and the old rundown boat that held so many memories. Although the five decided to sell the cottage they all wanted the boat to go to LeBlanc, who at the time lived in his hometown of Littleton.

Yearning to be near water again, he and his wife envisioned a retirement home like the McManus cottage and loved the area of Maine where their daughter lived.

 “We finally found this perfect home on Little Sebago Lake,” Leblanc said. “It reminds me so much of my childhood experiences.”

The LeBlanc family has continued to grow, both biologically and otherwise, and they now host a house full of people every summer - creating another set of memories. Of course, the old blue boat continues to be a part of it, too.

“When I inherited this boat, my intention was just to do a new paint job but it was worse than I thought.” LeBlanc said. “To get this boat refurbished took significant time and work and I’m not sure I would have done it if it weren’t for the local businesses in Windham and Naples who took on this big task. But they did so because of the story that is attached to it. And I must admit, it was a big part of not only my childhood but my own children’s life.”

The California Sidewinder, now named ‘Above Reproach’ in honor of McManus’ dating advice, will be completely refurbished in time to celebrate the boat’s 50^th anniversary this summer. The cast of characters will include all of the “McFranle” family members. The celebration will occur in Cape Cod in honor of Jean and Warren McManus and the deep and binding relationships they created for so many.

“We all realize the important role Jean and Warren played in our lives and the many connections all of us have as a result of them. They gave us a wonderful life, guiding us in many ways. Yes, the boat is just a boat – but it carries with it so many important stories and memories. And we would not have it any other way.” <