Whimsical 2017 calendar nets $600 for children’s program

The Hill Sisters Calendar Girls have done it again.

They created their fifth calendar, and sold all 200 of the 2017 calendars in order to donate $600 to the Patrick County Backpack Program.

In 2011, the Hill Sisters — Joanne Hill, Louise Hill Hansen, Frances Hill Radford, and Evonne Hill — decided to photograph their frequent get-togethers. Upon seeing a couple of the pictures, a friend suggested the sisters use the photos, which were creative and usually humorous, to make a calendar.

And so it was: the first calendar was created in 2011. The Hill sisters skipped a couple of years, but made calendars again for 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Copies of the first calendar were given away; then the sisters decided if they were going to put so much time and effort into a project, it should be for a reason. They decided to donate all profits from selling the calendars to the Backpack Program, which provides a weekly supplement of food to students who may otherwise go hungry on weekends.

Fellowship Church in Ararat, where Frances is a member, provides for the Blue Ridge Elementary School program. New Beginnings Church in Claudville, where Evonne is a member and is pastored by Rev. Dwayne Trout, contributes to the Woolwine Elementary School program. Hardin Reynolds Memorial School, where Joanne’s daughter and Louise’s niece (Pam Hylton) is the school counselor, doesn’t have a church sponsor but has received food and monetary donations from Unity Missionary Baptist Church, Stuart Baptist Church, and Stella Christian Church.

Creating a scene
“Animated” might be a word used to describe the sisters in explaining how they create ideas for each of the 12-month scenes. Friends often suggest ideas and locations for the photos.
As a result, each sister has “grown” a costume closet in order to dress accordingly for each scene that develops. From skinny dipping to playing Texas Hold ‘Em with a preschool card dealer on North Main Street, each calendar month is adorned with another endearing portrait of the sisters.

Reaching back to their cultural roots, there are scenes that depict the harvesting of a chicken for stew, tending a moonshine still, and cooking on a wood stove. Through their experiences as “calendar girls,” the Hill Sisters have become brazen enough to attempt portrayals of such famous characters as The Beatles, Dolly Parton, and the Andy Griffith show’s Aunt Bea, Otis, and Barnie.
Local businesses also get in on the fun, as Wanda’s Estate & Custom Jewelry along with Mattie B’s offered the calendars for sale in their shops. Uptown Suites, the Coffee Break, and WHEO Radio have the calendars hung prominently in their places of business.

Local photographers Pam (Alexander) Hylton and Janet V. Lawson usually handily operate the camera. When they’re not available, an anonymous passerby is asked to do the honor of taking photographs. Vistaprint does the printing and WHEO helps with marketing by interviewing one of the sisters on Patrick County Profiles.

Through a joint effort, the finished product arrives by UPS, is sold in the fall, and the checks to the Backpack Program are usually delivered by Christmas. Giving back and having fun in the process becomes a team effort enjoyed by all who participate and appreciated by those who are part of the Backpack Program.

The Calendar Girls, ranging in age from 61 to 80, are currently deciding just what adventures they might pursue for the 2018 calendar: What about the Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf, or maybe the Lennon sisters, how about Charlie and his Angels or maybe …