Monday, November 19, 2007 10:16 PM CST
Festival funds help fulfill hospice patients' last wishes
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
hmeeker@jg-tc.com
MATTOON —The annual Lincolnland Hospice Festival of Trees lit up the room again Saturday night at the fundraising gala and auction.
But there were also some large color photographs on display reminding those looking over the trees and wreath displays what the fundraiser does for hospice patients and their families in 19 Illinois counties.
One photograph included a bearded man without legs on a motorcycle with a Harley-Davidson T-shirt. There was a smile on his face. The photograph recorded one of his last wishes coming true.
“He said it was the best thing in his life. He was buried in that Harley shirt,” said Lincolnland Homecare and Hospice Director Chris Linn. “And there was the mother, who was terminally ill. She asked for playground equipment so her children could play. She watched them from a window.”
Whether providing wedding dresses, quilts, baseball game tickets or pets, hospice brings special gifts to people throughout the year.
“We have Christmases in August for fulfilling end-of-life requests for patients,” Linn said.
On Saturday night at Sarah Bush Lincoln Education Center, the decorative trees and wreaths were celebrating an “Old-Fashioned Christmas.” Up to 160 people dressed in their best clothing viewed the dozens of trees and displays for the fundraiser.
There was a “topsy-turvey” tree standing upside-down with its mix of traditional trimmings. There was a smaller tree dedicated to Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys star quarterback and former Eastern Illinois University star, in a “Lone Star Christmas.” There were other eye-catching trees with classic Christmas movies, stuffed bears, a toy dog by a fireplace and rocking chair and Cookie Monster from Sesame Street.
Kim Lockart, special events coordinator with the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Foundation, had a special place in her heart for one tree in the corner of the large room where the auction took place..
“It’s called ‘A Grandma’s Christmas,’ and it reminded me of my grandmothers. They loved Christmas and they cooked or sewed. So many of the items on this tree are handmade. It just brought back so many memories for me,” Lockart said.
The goal of the 2007 Festival of Trees was to surpass the $90,000 goal of last year, Lockart said. Two of the most elaborately decorated trees tried to bring back a different world through design.
“An 1894 Christmas” was a work from Consolidated Communications mixing old images, vintage hand-crafted ornaments and sparkling lights shaped like candles. There was also an old phone on a stand, plus an old book about St. Nicholas.
“1894 was the founding year for Consolidated so they wanted to honor that year with this tree,” Lockart said.
Virginia and Anna-Elise “Annie” Price produced a tree with the theme, “A Proper English Christmas.” Their family has ties to England and Denmark — last year, the sisters from Mattoon produced a tree with a Danish Christmas theme.
There were decorations depicting a knight, palace guards, Mary Queen of Scots (with her head still attached in keeping with the season of peace), Henry the VIII, St. Paul’s Cathedral, black London taxi cabs, many teacups and teapots, and the man who wrote a play about a Danish prince 400 years ago, Shakespeare. Atop their tree was a red-robed Father Christmas, the proper name for the England’s Santa.
There were red candles on the tree as well. Virginia Price said the candles are actually lighted on their family tree, albeit briefly.
“We have a fire extinguisher in the room when we do it,” Annie said with a smile.
Everything went well for the Proper English Christmas Tree effort. However, Father Christmas apparently was a little tipsy during the decorating session.
“Someone asked us if he’d been in the egg nog,” Annie said.
Virginia Price said the great thing about decorating a tree for Festival Lights comes when all the designers produce their works of art at the hospital.
“Everyone works together. Someone will say ‘Oh, I forgot my glue gun,’ and people loan theirs. We ask questions and offer advice. And we bring snacks,” she said.
Lincolnland Homecare and Hospice serves Coles, Douglas, Shelby, Cumberland, Effingham, Clark, Moultrie, Edgar, Jasper, Fayette, Crawford, Clay, Lawrence, Marion, Piatt, Montgomery, Richland, Bond, and Wayne counties.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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Texas T wrote on Nov 19, 2007 6:36 PM: