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Veterans decorate tree at Nebraska airport

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — If anyone walks through the Central Nebraska Regional Airport this Christmas season and sees a beautiful Christmas tree, they should thank a veteran. More specifically, they should thank a member of the Grand Island Veterans Home.

Annette Schimmer, airport director of finance, called Nancy Klimek at the Grand Island Veterans Home earlier this year and asked if people there would be interested in decorating two Christmas trees.

Klimek immediately accepted the invitation.

“We’ve had elementary students decorate the trees in the past,” Schimmer said.

However, it’s often difficult for the students to get the time off from school to come out to the airport to decorate the trees. So Schimmer decided to ask a different group instead and chose members of the Grand Island Veterans Home.

She also had specific proposals for tree decorations because of Hall County’s 150th anniversary this year.

“I wanted a Hall County tree and a veterans tree,” Schimmer said.

Joanne Badura said Veterans Home members complied with that request, scanning in and miniaturizing a number of historical Hall County photos of landmarks such as the Platt-Duetsche.

They also placed the photos in frames they had painted and assembled.

The veterans’ tree was adorned with historical photos of the Grand Island Veterans Home. Once again, members were responsible for scanning in photos of the home through the years and putting them in frames they had painted and assembled.

Members also strung popcorn to wrap around the trees, painted wooden sleigh ornaments and hand-painted the outside of several Christmas ball ornaments.

Men’s ties were included as part of the Christmas decorations. Members tore the ties apart and Edith Soper, activities assistant in the Anderson Building at the Veterans Home, pieced the ties together in a quilted star shape.

Members then stuffed the star shapes, and sewed the top half of each star with the stuffing to black material on the bottom.

Grand Island Senior High lent a wooden train that would be laid at the base of one of the trees, said Badura, who noted the loan was made because of Senior High’s relationship with the nearby Veterans Home.

Badura said the favorite Christmas ornaments for veterans to make were clear plastic balls. The gold foil cap was removed from the top of the balls, which were then filled with various red, white and blue paint.

Members would then spin the balls around, causing the paints to swirl on the inside. Then, the excess paint was dumped out and the balls were placed upside down to dry, causing the paint to run some more.

Badura said another 48 Christmas ornaments were added to the original 84 ornaments created by the veterans, making 132 in all to hang on the trees.

Thursday’s decorating was done mostly by staff and volunteers from the Grand Island Veterans Home. LeRoy Mundt was the only member of the home to make the trip to the airport.

He hung a few ornaments, but he also took some time out to take a seat in the airport waiting area and listen to some accordion music. One of the tunes played, appropriately enough, was “O, Tannebaum” or “O, Christmas Tree.”

“I like being around aircraft,” said Mundt, who noted he had served in the Army Air Corps.