Photos by Forrest Mellott
On December 19, 1777, ragged and poorly supplied Rebel troops stumbled into Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Under the direction of General George Washington, these 12,000 men hunkered down for the winter and waited for spring when the battle would resume with the British.
This December, the local Alexander Hamilton chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) selected this historical event to be the focus of their tree displayed at the Dec-A-Tree competition at the Johnson County Museum of History. While there was no actual battle at Christmastime in Valley Forge, there is still much to celebrate regarding this event; during this winter known as the “Winter of Red Snow,” the Rebel soldiers faced much hardship, but they also transformed themselves into an actual army.
Designed Hundreds of Trees
To design and implement this year’s submission to the Dec-A-Tree competition, the DAR has chosen Suzie Hollinger. Hollinger is a long-time resident of Center Grove, and as an interior decorator for over 25 years, she has panache for Christmas trees.
“I have designed hundreds of Christmas trees, and no two have ever been the same. To help my trees tell their story, I like them to display unusual items…different from just traditional ornaments. I made many of the ornaments for this tree by taking historical quotes and mounting them onto old cedar and vintage fabrics, accented with quill feather pens,” she said.
Making her own decorations is one of the characteristics that keep people coming back to Suzie year after year for their Christmas and everyday décor. For this particular tree, Suzie incorporated maps, quotes and Bible verses interspersed among the lanterns, bugles and other period pieces.
One of the things that most inspired Suzie in the Valley Forge tree was “George Washington’s prayers that were documented from this challenging time. I also made a replica of George Washington’s prayer journal that includes his prayers from the time. His faith and Christianity were immensely important to him and can remind us of the reason for the Christmas season…amidst adversity or joy. People of all religions will be inspired by the strength of his faith,” she said.
Non-Conventional Topper
Signatures of Suzie’s trees are often the tree toppers that incorporate the client’s desired theme. For the Christmas at Valley Forge tree, Suzie once again incorporated the theme of the time period into the topper. Instead of using a more traditional star or angel, she used a vintage Betsy Ross flag combined with a saber.
While the use of a weapon is clearly not a traditional tree topper, Suzie felt that it was a demonstration of this Bible verse that further epitomizes Washington’s stalwart faith:
There is a time to love.
And there’s a time to hate.
There is a time for war.
And there’s a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:8
Suzie went on to explain the use of a weapon on a Christmas tree: “I’m so devout on remembering that our freedom isn’t free. [This project] triggered all those memories of what our ancestors did for us and what our current military does for us now.” In addition, it is a reminder to visitors to the Johnson County Museum of History’s display that even at Christmas, many troops are away from their families – both during the Christmas at Valley Forge and now.
In addition to this project for the DAR, Suzie is busy decorating trees for clients’ homes. “I can use their family ornaments or design their home to look just like they see in the magazines. Smaller or thin trees can even be designed to be stored with all the decorations in place and then simply unwrapped and put in place from year to year,” said Hollinger.
She went on to explain, “Many older children don’t care to participate in the decorating ‘event’ anymore. It is even difficult for the parents to find time to put it all together early enough to really enjoy it. Then putting it away is another time-consuming project. That is why we come in, decorate for them, put the boxes away and have Christmas music playing by the time they get home from work. People love to enjoy their Christmas decorations. We’ll even come back in January and take it down for them.”
For questions or more information, contact Suzie Hollinger at 317-847-4974 or by email at rsh1188@comcast.net.
About Kristen Parker
A life-time resident of the Center Grove area, Kris graduated from IU Bloomington with a degree in Journalism. She is the blessed mother of two active, home-schooled boys, and is passionate about her faith, her family and making her budget stretch.
