Sugar Plum craft sale to be held at Cox High

By Jan Gaillard

Correspondent

The 36th annual Sugar Plum Tree Senior Citizen's Craft Sale will be held at Frank Cox High School Saturday through July 25.

Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf will officiate at a 9:45 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday, as will Lisa Lane from Senior Source Magazine.

Last year, 156 crafters supplied handmade stained glass, wooden items, oil and photographic art, Christmas ornaments, jewelry, quilts and baby clothes.

Cape Henry Woman's Club, a nonprofit organization with nearly 100 members, holds the show to benefit area seniors.

Over the years, the club has participated in charitable endeavors such as collecting eyeglasses for the Lyon's Club. They also have supported the Back Bay Restoration Foundation, Seton Youth Shelters, St. Mary's Infant Home School and Samaritan House.

All sales from the Sugar Plum Tree show supplement the senior crafters' incomes, with only 10 percent of the gross profits used to cover advertising and sales supplies. More than $500,000 has been raised from past events.

"I feel like every year is successful because we have so many people who help with the sale, and I want to make sure everyone knows we have things for people of all ages," said Helen Colonna, co-chair of the event with Antoinette Verduce. "It's a wonderful event and we had some old crafters out for a while who are back this year."

Crafters ages 55 and over are eligible to participate in the venue, said Louise Morgenson, the club's publicity chairman.

"The way it works is that everything has to be handmade," explained Morgenson, a Lake James resident. "We inventory their things in for two days, and then we price and display them, and handle their booth for the duration of the sale. The seniors don't have to be there at all, but they make extra money."

Hilltop residents John and Patty Waterfield, of Shorebird Carvings, have been preparing for the sale. John Waterfield, a fifth-generation carver, has hand-carved local wildfowl since 1983. The couple paints each bird to its natural specifications.

"This is my first year doing the show because I wasn't old enough," said John Waterfield, as he examined a Great Blue Heron in his shop behind their house. "We've got about 60 pieces to take to Sugar Plum, and we've done over 100 birds every year. I learned how by making decoys, and switched to shorebirds along the way "

Priced from $45 to $250, the Waterfields don't make a living with Shorebird Carvings, but the extra income from the show is appreciated, John Waterfield said.

"Each piece is original - no two are the same," he said. "I'm retired now from my landscaping business but I stay busy every day and can't seem to sit down. I give away a lot of the birds to friends and donate pieces to charity, but I do this for enjoyment. I'd do it even if I wasn't getting paid to do it."

Jan Gaillard, jangaillard007@yahoo.com