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Tree winners from the Festival of Trees were Kim Unterbrin of Lennon, Kerry Hendrickson of Bay City, Kathy Rohwetter of St. Charles, Mark Sebald of Chesaning, Linda Willneff of Clinton Township, Michelle Loos of Oakley, Jan Stoll of Chesaning, Charlotte Farnsworth of Grand Blanc, Troy Hendershop of White Lake, Emma Bohn of Chesaning, Cozy Milbrandt of Oakley, and Gary Azelton of Chesaning, for the businesses (respectively) Denny's Lawn Care. Family Pharmacy/Norine's Hallmark, Bonnymill Inn & Eatery, Animal Health Care in Chesaning, Harris Insurance Agency, Sloan's Septic Tank Service LLC, Valentine's Mini Storage, Schultz Economy Drugs, Garrow Real Estate, Riverside Flowers and Greenhouses, Waddell & Reed Inc., and Broad Street Pharmacy.

Those who received wreaths include: from the Chesaning Chiropractic Center, Cindy Prentles of Jenison; Interiors by Dianne, Roberta Henige of Chesaning; National City, Jean Rumisek; Aaron Tithof Builders LLC, Dana Raymond of St. Charles; Advanced Eyecare and Contact Lens Center, Deb DeLong of Chesaning; and Hehr International Inc., Nancy Particka of Chesaning.

The door prize winners were: from the Community State Bank, John Cowman of Ann Arbor; Family Dollar, Patti Brcik of St. Charles; Century 21 Woodland/Selena Meder, Sharon Alden of Chesaning; Miss Lexie's Chocolates, Mary Martin of Chesaning; Mark Russell Agency/Farm Bureau, Nancy Particka of Chesaning; Pixel Perfect Photo Restoration, Wayne Suppes of Chesaning; H & R Block of Chesaning, Connie O'Brien of Chesaning; and Sovis Insurance Agency, Jan Ellenholz of Whitmore Lake.

The gift winners were: from Struck Lawn and Landscape, David Harris of Chesaning; M-57 Surplus, Nancy Particka of Chesaning; Jeannie Hopfensperger DDS, John Mahoney of St. Charles; Showboat Restaurant, Frank Messner of Saginaw; Ed Rehmann & Sons Clothing and Shoes, John Taylor of Chesaning; Artists Alley/Mildred Tithof, Berneece Peet of Chesaning; Chesaning Pools and Spas, Amy Hakken of Chesaning; Ace Hardware, Amanda Moore of Chesaning; Vic Shapley, Erika Speace; Vic Shapley, Jared Weisenberger of Chesaning; Artists Alley/Mildred Swartzmiller, Leili Hain of Chesaning; and the following from Sarah's Attic: Joyce Vesperman of Birch Run, Julie Amman of Chesaning, Ruth Corrin of Chesaning, Lori Mills, Karen Krygier, Linda Wise of St. Charles, Mary Emmendorfer of Chesaning, Amber Walter, Deb DeLong of Chesaning, Susan Emmendorfer of New Lothrop, and Angie Gerding of Chesaning.

For the Candlelight Gift Walk, Maritza Plater from Grand Rapids received the first place prize of $100; Tonya Kanine from Chesaning the second place of $50; and Marsha Gregory from Chesaning the third place of $25. Other winners include: Ace Hardware, Irene Neff of Chesaning; Arthur's Pizzeria, Charel Stevens of Henderson; Bonnymill Inn & Eatery, Don Welsbarth of Saginaw; Broad Street Pharmacy, Dennis Craddock of Mason; Chesaning Antiques and Specialty Shop, Cindy Rickerd of Chesaning; Ed Rehmann & Sons, Mary Prong of Clinton; Family Pharmacy/Norine's Hallmark, Lynn Ohman of St. Charles; Franks Supermarket, David Klein of New Lothrop; Gewirtz "Do It Best" Hardware, Nancy Rowe of Chesaning; H & R Block, Cheri Woodworth of Chesaning; HouseKeys Real Estate, Gayle Tuft of Brant; Interiors By Diane, Kim Koinis of Saginaw; The Malt Shop, Connie Rawles of Owosso; Miss Lexie's Chocolates, Terry Kuklis of Chesaning; Nue-Rich Jewelers, Mike Spolarich of St. Charles; Sarah's Attic, Dawn Craddock of Mason; Sarah's Attic, Tim Weisenberger of Chesaning; Schultz Economy Drugs, Cheryl Mitrano of Midland; Showboat Restaurant, David Harris of Chesaning; and Subway, Breanna Miller of Owosso.

Carl Bruse handiwork on sale at Santa's Village

CHESANING - 2005 Saginaw County Homemaker of the Year Carl Bruse will be bringing his handiwork to Santa's Village. Bruse will be displaying and selling items such as photo albums with quilted covers, pillows, throws and placemats at the Saginaw County Fair event.

Bruse regularly engages in knitting, crocheting, basketry, sewing, canning and quilting. His interest in the home arts, particularly quilting, developed early. "I made my first quilt from bandanas when I was in college," he said. "That was 42 years ago."

Bruse enjoys putting together "scrappy" quilts and the American flag patterned quilts. He makes his machined pieced and quilted creations from 100 percent cotton.

Santa's village will be open from 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through December 16. Tickets are $9 and available at the gate, children five and under are free. The cost covers parking, rides and activities for children and entertainment.

For more information about Santa's Village, contact the Saginaw County Fair office at 989-725-2143. For reserve a ride on the North Pole Express, contact the Steam Railroading Institute at 989-725-9464.

Coming to town: toy drives benefit local children

Toys for Tots distributes in Chesaning, doubling the number reached from area

Hillary Darling

The Tri-County Citizen

CHESANING - They've made a list.

Checked it twice.

And are coming to town.

Toys For Tots, the Christmas toy drive sponsored by the Marine Corps and Salvation Army, will be distributing toys in Chesaning on December 17. The Chesaning American Legion is also collecting under Toys For Kids to distribute with the nation-wide organization.

Both toy drives seek to provide gifts for children in need during the holidays.

Toys For Tots previously only distributed the donations in Saginaw for those qualifying in Saginaw County and many could not find transportation into the city to receive the gifts. Because of a request for more locations, Chesaning and Hemlock/Merrill distributions have been added this year.

According to Salvation Army worker Major Tracey Ruston, the new location will serve the Chesaning corner of the county, including St. Charles, Brant, Maple Grove and other area residents as well. The new location has almost doubled the area's number of families receiving donations. 72 families are registered to pick up gifts in the Showboat City, 1700 receiving gifts county wide.

Toys For Kids made donations one season a few years ago, giving toys donated to local children, ceasing because organizer and Legion Commander Bill Lickman was unable to continue to lead the drive. Able to head the drive again this year, he was aiming to revive the program. Lickman turned to the CAER Center-which is donating food and gift boxes separately on the same day-for help giving out the toys, and was directed to the Salvation Army/Marine Corps program.

Toys for Tots was able to "check" the list twice with two opportunities for families to apply, one in Saginaw and one in Chesaning. Gifts are matched as closely as possible to the children's wish lists and given to the parents on the distribution day. The American Legion will try to ensure that the toys they collect will stay with Chesaning families, by collecting toys, storing them and delivering them to the local Toys for Tots distribution.

New, unwrapped toys can be donated to Toys for Tots at several locations, including the Chesaning Burger King, Edward Jones Investment, and the offices of Dr. Theil and Dr. Small. The toys will then be distributed throughout Saginaw County.

Gifts of the same criteria may be donated to Toys for Kids at the Chesaning locations of Ace Hardware, Ed Rehmann & Sons Clothing, The Chesaning Public Library, National City Bank, Community State Bank and Frank's Supermarket. These toys will be distributed in Chesaning.

Both Ruston and Lickman expressed the increased need for such a program this year. "I felt there were needy kids in the area, and there still is, especially this year," said Lickman.

"The need is greater than it has been in the past with all the job shifts and layoffs," Ruston agreed.

Toys For Tots (www.toysfortots.org) began in 1947 when a Marine Reservists group delivered 5,000 toys; last year the organization gave 19.2 million toys to 7.6 million children.

The list has been made and checked-Santa's coming to town.