By Angela H. Hill
Every Christmas season for about 25 years, a stout evergreen tree adorned in lights illuminated the front lawn of what was then the R.J. Reynolds Patrick County Memorial Hospital. A hospital auxiliary fund-raiser and beloved community tradition, family members would “buy” lights for the Love Light Tree in memory of or in honor of loved ones.
The tree was damaged during the Pioneer Community Hospital of Patrick’s 2014 renovations and had to be removed, but its memory lives on. County resident Sam Floyd, owner of Home Comforts décor shop on Main Street, has turned his memory of the Love Light Tree into a pre-lit canvas and fund-raiser for the Patrick County Alzheimer’s Group.
Floyd said the Love Light Tree became a beacon of hope for him on Christmas night 2010. His father Sammy, who was in the late stages of Parkinson’s and dementia, was hospitalized for pneumonia. No one thought his dad would survive the night.
As Floyd, his mom and his sister left the hospital, they stepped out into a peaceful heavy snow falling on the Love Light Tree. “[We] stood for a moment and gazed at how beautiful the tree was with its multi-colored lights and covering of snow,” Floyd said.
“It immediately gave all three of us a sense of hope and of well-being for my dad,” he continued. Floyd took a quick snapshot of the tree with his phone. He discovered later that it was a beautiful rendition of the tree.
Sammy Floyd did survive the night, and though he remained hospitalized for a month, he beat the pneumonia and lived another four years.
After many people urged him to do something with the photo, Floyd decided to turn it into a pre-lit canvas, available for $80. In honor of his father, Floyd will donate all proceeds from the canvas sale to the Patrick County Alzheimer’s Group.
“I have a real soft spot for the Alzheimer’s Group because the group does a lot of really, really great things for people who have Alzheimer’s,” Floyd said.
The canvas is on display at Home Comforts and in the Pioneer Community Hospital of Patrick lobby.
Floyd personally installs each set of lights, therefore, he needs about two weeks’ notice to have the canvas printed and ready. Anyone who would like to order one may stop by the store, call him at (276) 694-3758, email him at homecomforts55@gmail.com, or find him on Facebook as Home Comforts LLC.
Long-standing tradition
The Love Light Tree was dedicated on Dec. 17, 1984, at the R.J. Reynolds Patrick County Memorial Hospital with a program that included a poem by Cathy Swails and songs by the Glory Road Singers. The lights sold for $3 each, resulting in $2,300 for the hospital auxiliary.
The program from that first dedication thanks Jerry and Mary Faye Cummings for the tree and J.P. Stevens for donating the lights, which numbered 700 that year. The Cummings donated the Love Light Tree in the fall of 1984. It was a replacement for an existing tree that had grown too big.
Proceeds from the Love Light Tree went to help with hospital expenses and outreach programs, such as a new set of doors, decorations for the chapel and lobby furniture. In 2006, Love Light Tree proceeds were used to purchase defibrillators for Patrick County Schools.
For the families who purchased lights, the Love Light Tree came to represent more than a fund-raiser. Below is the poem written by Cathy Swails that first appeared in the 1984 dedication ceremony program:
Love Lit
Christmas Tree
Oh Christmas Tree, you stand before us,
so gallant and strong,
And represent LOVE,
that’s right and lasts long
LOVE
for those who live,
for those who have died,
for those whose memories
we cannot hide.
LOVE
for a friend and family,
and those we hold so dear,
and for those who are “just special”
at this time of year.
May your light now glow
from dusk ‘til dawn.
So, upon this lawn
all can see
A beautiful “Love Lit”
Christmas Tree.
