Houlton woman making a difference for cause

Volunteers with the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery Corporation have been working on a quilt raffle to raise money for additional columbarium walls (cremation niches). The beautifully landscaped cemetery is located on 33 acres of land on the outskirts of Caribou, donated by John and Joyce Noble. It is now a hallowed burial ground for veterans and their spouses at no cost for the plots, headstones, and interment.
    The cemetery was originally constructed to house 180 cremation niches along with approximately 9,000 in-ground full burial plots. An unexpected trend became obvious when many families chose cremation over full body burial because this allowed winter interments bringing closure to families at the time of death. The cremation niches soon were reaching capacity and a emergent need to expand became apparent.
This project’s funding has been a grass roots effort with some of the seed money coming from their capital expenditure account. However, an additional $104,500 needed to be raised to complete this expansion project. Many hands participated in various fund-raising activities that have proved to be highly successful and innovative.
Various veterans service organizations, Rotary clubs, Fish and Game clubs, Lions clubs, Elks clubs and countless individual and business donations have been the catalyst for the amazing progress that has been made to reach this goal. However, the goal still needs some additional attention.
Currently, one ongoing fund-raiser is a raffle of a handmade quilt that was donated by Tammy Ritchie of Houlton. This generous donation came about after Ritchie learned of the ongoing need at the Maine Veterans Cemetery in Caribou after listening to various friends, family members, and news reports. She wondered what she could do that would make a significant impact on this need.
Ritchie, a detailed quilter, gets much joy from her creations. Quilting brings her comfort and she thought about the countless families who are comforted by the fact that their loved one, who had valiantly served their country, can be laid to rest in northern Maine at a memorial cemetery that honors veterans.
Formerly, families would have had to travel to Augusta to pay their respects to family members who chose to be buried in a nationally recognized veterans cemetery. Ritchie felt it a perfect fit to make a beautifully crafted red, white, and blue “Starburst” quilt (92-inch x 92-inch) to raffle off to raise money for this noble cause.
The raffle is ongoing and will be drawn on Saturday, Nov. 24 to a lucky winner who has seen fit to purchase a ticket from one of the various Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery Corporation members or volunteers. The tickets are $1 each or six for $5.
Chairman of the Cemetery board, Harry Hafford of Masardis, says that it is thoughtful and giving individuals like Ritchie who make the difference. He credits so many people, businesses, and organizations from throughout Aroostook County and the state of Maine for really embracing their requests for support and recognition of the importance of a northern Maine veterans cemetery. These donations that are getting closer to meeting that $104,500 goal are coming in small increments, but they all add up.
Hafford said Ritchie’s generosity has made a significant difference and Ritchie hopes to make the quilt fund-raiser a yearly tradition.
“I have always supported veterans causes and feel this is a way that I can truly give back to those who have given so much,” she said.
“This has been a huge success, but a few hundred extra ticket sales would really make a difference,” said Hafford. “It’s a reasonable amount to donate to a cause that reaches so many who have given so much for our freedoms.”
For more information on these tickets, or to donate to the Northern Maine Veterans Cemetery Corporation (an non-profit organization), please contact Hafford at 435-6024.