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As the Christmas season nears, people all over the world do different things to prepare. In some cultures, people drag in a big Yule log, while others seek out fir trees or mistletoe — or both. Merchants hustle to display their merchandise in its best light, and put out signs reminding us of just how soon Christmas day will arrive.
Illinoisans are cranking up for the holiday season, too, in a multitude of different ways. Over in Eastern Illini Electric Cooperative's territory, co-op members Richard and Dorothy Shiley are getting ready for the rush at their place between Homer and Sidney. Their business, Pine Acres Trees & Herbs, features a garden/antique/craft/herb shop in their 110-year-old remodeled, heated barn, with a "U-cut" Christmas tree lot nearby. These days, the shop echoes with the happy sounds of families looking for a special gift, and the yard is full of people looking for "that perfect tree" for the holiday season. While the Shileys are busily getting ready for the Christmas tree harvest, they're also stocking their shop, which is home to many antique, craft and furniture items that might make the ideal gift for someone special. The tree lot will be open for cutters from November 26 through Christmas Eve day. "I hope 10 ILLINOIS COUNTRY LIVING DECEMBER 1999
our friends will come out, cut a tree, and enjoy a hot beverage and some popcorn," Richard says. Dorothy adds, "We're making gift baskets, wreaths, swags, table arrangements and Christmas decorations for sale, and we also make them to order. "I have a workshop scheduled for Dec. 1," Dorothy says. "We'll teach our audience how to take a variety of fresh greens, ribbons and ornaments and create a two to four foot swag to use indoors or outdoors. The $20 price includes all the materials needed." Another workshop, set for December 17, will teach how to create a flower centerpiece for the holiday table. "We'll use fresh flowers, greens, candles and more to create individual masterpieces. The price is the same as for the swag workshop. Both start at 7 p.m." Richard adds, "We'll have all kinds of plants available, including a good selection of herbs, perennials and annuals and we'll have a nice garden for customers to browse in and get ideas from." While the Shileys are hosting friends and neighbors at their tree farm and craft shop, Rose Marie Lynn, who lives between Macomb and Bushnell, is finding her days not and heavy, too.
Although some people would rather be rolling in dough, she's happy rolling it out. She makes Christmas ornaments out of the sticky stuff, and sells them all over the country. Rose Marie is a director of McDonough Telephone Cooperative, and her husband, Steve, is a McDonough Power Cooperative director. Making Christmas tree ornaments from bread dough is a simple thing. So simple, in fact, that most people never think of it. Rose Marie tells how she got the idea. "About 15 years ago," she says, "my church group had a cousin of mine come down from Wisconsin and show us how to make these things for a church bazaar. We made a bunch of ornaments and sold them for a couple of dollars each. I was astonished at how well they sold, and we only did it that one year." With her church group no longer involved, and with that impressive sales record in mind, she decided to give it a try herself. "It's a simple process," she says, "and you just make a dough of flour, salt and water, and roll it out like you'd roll out cookie dough. Then you cut the ornament out — using cookie cutters — and decorate it with food coloring. Then you bake it. "I was impressed because you could use just plain everyday materials that you'd find in nearly any kitchen, and you could bake the things in a regular oven. "They're really nice," she continues, and they're tough, too." As if to prove her point, she bangs one on the side of a table, leaving it completely undamaged. "I've shown them to a lot of people who think they're ceramic," she adds, "but they're not." It was that simplicity that attracted her to the ornaments at first. She literally started making them on the kitchen table, and baking them in the kitchen oven, and didn't have to shell out a lot of money for special tools or equipment. She started selling them at craft shows and the like, and was doing quite well. Well enough, in fact, that her business outgrew her kitchen. "We remodeled an old wash house," she says, "and I moved into it, with a couple of ratty old kitchen ranges I bought at garage sales and places like that. They don't have to be nice, and it doesn't matter if the top burners work or not. All I need is a working oven. "As time went by," she continues, "I started a mail-order business, and I've had a full-color catalog printed. One of the attractions of these ornaments is that I can personalize them for families, pets and so on." Soon, she was in a situation that many of us envy mightily. She was
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about to outgrow her shop again. They moved the operation into a four-car garage. The business enables her to earn an income while still having hours that are flexible enough that she can help Steve when he's in a "time crunch" with the family farm operation. And, on the other hand, he can help her when the farming is slack and she's up to her elbows in dough — literally. "It works out well," she says, "and the operations complement each other very nicely. We have four kids, and they've all helped too, although the oldest three are pretty much out of the picture now. Son Curt, whom the Lynns refer to as "our second crop," attends high school at Macomb Junior-Senior High School. With most of the kids gone, Rose Marie has several friends and neighbors who help out, as well as her mother-in-law. As might be expected, the busy season begins in August, with the really busy season starting in late October and running right into the beginning of December. While the Shileys are getting their shop ready and Rose Marie is rolling out dough, Ann Taylor of Colchester is busily flexing her crocheting fingers, and is cranking out crocheted Christmas tree ornaments at a great rate. She's a member of McDonough Power Cooperative. "My mother crocheted for many years," Ann says, "but I didn't. I learned to knit when I was young, but I didn't have any interest at all in crocheting." Then she realized how much faster crocheting went than knitting, and became a convert. For years, Ann and her husband, Jim, lived in Newton, where he was superintendent of schools. She crocheted hundreds of snow-flake ornaments for their seven-foot trees, bringing them out each year for the enjoyment of their five children. In addition to decorating her trees, she crafted snowflake ornaments for friends and family. "I tried to sell them one year," she says, "but they didn't sell well at all. Now, I use them to decorate my trees, and give them to friends and relatives." With the kids grown and gone, the Taylors moved to rural Colchester, and into a smaller house. "I've got the house decorated to look really rustic," Ann says, "and the crocheted ornaments fit in really well. I don't use any other decorations in my trees, and I've crocheted the ornaments for this tree so that all are different, just like real snow-flakes." She notes that she can knock out a fairly simple ornament in a matter of minutes, but that it takes an hour to make a really intricate one. "I used to use patterns," she says, "and you can find them in just about any needlework book, but now I just do them from memory. I've done so many that I can do them in my sleep, and sometimes do. But if I'm not careful, I'll wind up with five-point, or seven-point flakes, and I'll know it's time to stop. If they don't have six points, they're just not snowflakes as far as I'm concerned." Ann's style is a little unusual in that she prefers ecru thread for her flakes, as opposed to snow white. "I think it fits in better with my rustic decor," she says. She notes wryly that her seven grandchildren aren't particularly impressed with her snowflake-covered tree, and find it boring. "They like a lot of sparkle and movement," she remarks, "just like most kids." Even so, while the idea of having a tree covered entirely with crocheted flakes and white lights and nothing else may seem a bit rustic to many, there's no denying that a few such ornaments might be a nice addition to a more heavily decorated tree. There's nothing wrong with blending the old and the new!
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