Yesterdays Restaurant continues its Christmas Wreath display tradition

Visitors to downtown Warwick this holiday season may have noticed that there is a huge wreath encircling the entire entrance to Yesterdays restaurant at 29 Main Street.

It’s actually the third year for this display.

The story behind that wreath begins with World War II veteran William Kudla, who has since past away, and was kept alive by the Kudla family and William Kudla’s daughter, Darlene Kudla-Grasso, a bartender/waitress at Yesterdays.

After serving with the Marines in the Pacific Theater during World War II, Kudla married and then became the owner of a small floral supply business, where he made grave covers and wreaths in his garage during the holiday season.

And in 1960, being proud of the new home, he and his wife, Mary, had built, he decided to craft a giant wreath.

“Our favorite part of Christmas Day,” said Kudla-Grasso, “was always the Kudla family photo inside the wreath.”

Through the years, the family grew and the tradition continued until Kudla, getting up in age, found it harder to continue making the wreath and had passed that skill down to his children.

“Over the last few years,” said Kudla-Grasso at that time, “busy holiday schedules have kept the tradition at bay. As a new employee at Yesterdays, I was welcomed with open arms. John and Peggy Christison treat their employees and customers like family”

Kudla-Grasso, who is now a veteran employee, decided that Yesterdays would be the perfect place to hang the family wreath and the tradition continues.

The Christisons have added to it by using the unique decoration to invite people to sponsor a wreath for a veteran’s grave in the West Point Cemetery.

- Roger Gavan