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HOME GROWN
Ringing in The Season
For over 20 years, Boy Scouts have decorated the Community
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BY MAUREEN CALLAHAN PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF BOY SCOUT TROOP 89
For more than two decades, the holiday season in Downers Grove has been synonymous with Boy Scout Christmas tree and wreath sales. The lot, located at Prairie and Fairview, opens on Black Friday of Thanksgiving weekend, and stays open until everything is sold-traditionally about two weeks.
The sale is put on by Troop 89, sponsored by St. Mary of Gostyn Church. Most of the approximate thirty members are students at St. Mary’s School, but the troop welcomes others from outside the parish community. Firmly rooted and supported by the parish, the troop retains strong ties to its former scouts and scoutmasters, who help with events and service projects throughout the year.
Troop Scoutmaster Eric Linder, himself an Eagle Scout, sets a positive tone. Linder’s oldest son, Issac, now claims the rank of Eagle himself, with younger brother Simon heading down the same path. Their sister Leah will join the troop as a cub scout this year. “I’ve been involved in scouting all my life,” Linder stated. “The things I learned from my own scoutmasters and the examples they set are ingrained in my mind.”
Linder emphasized that rather than having different ranks of scouts selling popcorn or participating in other fundraisers throughout the year, and therefore competing against one another for sales, it works best to combine efforts during the holiday season and really work together. “Our troop alumni come back to help us out,” Linder said. Shifts are typically three hours long, every day of the week. This endeavor has been amazingly successful and seems to grow stronger with each passing year. About 75% of Troop 89’s budget comes from profits raised over the two-week period. “We subsidize our own dues with the Christmas sales,” Linder said. “Not all troops do that.”
The holiday sales afford scouts an opportunity to put skills acquired through their years in the organization to the test. Tying trees to the top of a car means deciding which knot to use. At that point, their knots merit badge takes on a meaning. “Knots aren’t just a secret handshake with no practical use. It’s great to see the things they learn come to life,” Linder emphasized.
Then there’s customer service. Helping would-be buyers locate the exact tree they envision can be challenging. Some of the scouts have “regular customers,” they work with year after year, making the work more personal. “People will sometimes comment that a kid has grown since last year,” Linder said. “So, they kind of get to know people from the community, too.”
It takes a real all-hands-on-deck approach to get things ready to open the lot before the first tree is ever sold. Setting up the stands and arranging the merchandise takes a whole day- usually in freezing cold November conditions. Linder laughed as he pointed out that “there’s a shared misery in working in cold conditions that brings the kids closer together.”
In the end, it’s all about help. The many hands of parents, scouts and volunteers, make light work. As Linder pointed out, “helpful” is the only characteristic repeated in both the Boy Scout Oath, as well as the Boy Scout Law. “One of the primary points about scouting is helping,” Linder commented. “The qualities scouts try to live up to are about “we,” not “me.”
There are many opportunities to buy Christmas trees and wreathes in the area. Stop by the lot this year for some holiday trimmings and to observe this service in action. Hours are: weekdays 6 p.m to 8 p.m. and weekends 8 a.m to 8 p.m. All proceeds benefit an organization focused on faith, hard work and community service. ■
MEENA BALAKRISHNAN DMD, MS
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