There is a core group of people representing the Chamber of Commerce who are responsible for the entire celebration of the Christmas stroll, but for Tracy Schuster, a member of the committee, this Christmas stroll was missing a huge piece of the celebration, an Elaine Courtnage designed Christmas stroll button. Facing this first Christmas without Elaine's design for the stroll, meant just one thing for Tracy, find every button Elaine ever designed, which was 17 years. It took one month to find all the buttons plus the children's buttons. Tracy used Facebook, personal contacts, and the Courtnage family's own button collection. It wasn't until last week that the last design was found, a drawing of Santa and Elaine's grandchildren. That last button design is Tracy's favorite. The Stroll Committee took the original drawing, had it matted and framed to present it to the Courtnage family.
Tracy asked Shonda Wright if she would design a wreath for all the buttons, leaving it up to her to choose the colors to display all the buttons on. Shonda choose blue and white, only to discover that blue was Elaine's favorite color. Serendipity defiantly played a part, making the total button collection feel like it had Elaine's own stamp of approval. The wreath went up for auction along with other items of Elaine's art to help fund the Elaine Courtnage Scholarship Fund which will be given to a student going into art or nursing.
A powerful quote by Clarence the Angel from the movie It's a Wonderful Life; "Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many lives. When he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?" The movie is about how much one person influences the whole town. This proves true. Elaine impacted the lives of so many around her. For Tracy, this was an opportunity to celebrate and honor Elaine's life. Elaine was her neighbor, and she grew up with her girls. Tracy commented, "She has a special place in my heart. She always will." The power of Elaine's life was the impact she made on others. A true It's a Wonderful Life story!
