Tradition lives

Published 3:05 am Tuesday, November 4, 2008

By By JESSICA SIEFF / Niles Daily Star
NILES – Remembrance. For the last 14 years, the community has shown honor and memory for loved ones through a donation to the Lakeland Community Hospital and Lakeland Auxiliary's "Midge Tyler Tree of Love." This year, not only will the tree serve as a way for people to remember their loved ones – but will yield a piece of Lakeland's own memory.
Donations are currently being collected for the Tree of Love – and will be collected through the month of December. Anyone donating an amount of $5 or more can have a light on the tree illuminated in memory of a loved one. The names of those being honored are added to the "Scroll of Love" and displayed in the lobby of Lakeland Community Hospital.
The tree was renamed for Midge Tyler, an active member of the Niles community and a volunteer at the hospital after she passed away in 2002. Volunteers coordinate the efforts to decorate the tree and raise money to benefit departments throughout the hospital.
This year the Auxiliary hopes to raise enough money to purchase a replica of the original gazebo that once stood in the hospital garden.
The lights have been strung on this year's Blue Spruce and forms need to be returned by Nov. 14 for the names of donators to be printed in the program booklet.
Cards acknowledging gifts of donations will be sent to the individual being honored or to the family of the deceased, along with an invitation to the traditional tree lighting ceremony, which will be held Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m.
The Lakeland Auxiliary can be contacted at 687-1433.