August 2005

Daily Herald 

By Elizabeth Harmon

Kevin Eldridge and his wife, Yvonne Yao, walked through the aisles of Rich's Foxwillow Pines Nursery, trying to choose the perfect hosta for the garden of their Woodstock home.

With several hundred varieties to choose from, bearing intriguing names such as Fire and Ice, Gin and Tonic and Sweet Home Chicago, the choices weren't easy ones.

"We're looking for unusual hosta," said Yao. "So far we've got white, yellow and lime green."

But regardless of the name or color, all the couple's plant selections will help fund the purchase of farm animals half a world away, though an organization called Heifer International.

"We've contributed to Heifer International, and we thought it would be nice to get what we want while giving to the charity," Eldridge said.

Plenty of others agreed.

Cars lined McConnell Road in Woodstock as visitors came from across the area to the nursery's Hosta Happening, which benefited Heifer International.  On sale were 500 varieties of hostas, along with other perennial plants; there were also a selection of Indian jackets, and scarves imported from the Kashmir region in the north of that country and Pakistan.

The 61-year-old Heifer International has benefited impoverished people in 115 countries, including the United States.

The fund-raiser was the second of two this year sponsored by nursery owners Rich and Susan Eyre. Saturday's estimated turnout of 250 to 300 people generated about $8,500 in donations. A May hosta sale and a booth at the Chicago Flower Show have already raised $23,000, Rich Eyre said.

Last year, the Eyres donated around $35,000 to Heifer International; they raised the money through special events as well as everyday sales of hostas and perennials at the nursery.

"It's a truly amazing thing to get to touch people's lives this way," he said.

According to the Heifer International Web site, www.heifer.org, the organization was founded by farmer and church relief worker Dan West, who hit upon the idea of providing farm animals and education to needy families as a way to eradicate hunger.

After receiving donated livestock and learning to care for it, families pass along the first female offspring to others, thus creating an ongoing source of milk, eggs, meat, wool and animal labor. The group has provided small cash loans for businesses and education, plus helped launch agriculture initiatives in U.S. inner cities through rooftop gardening, vermiculture (worm farms) and tilapia (a type of fish) breeding.

Rich Eyre became involved with Heifer International while serving in the Peace Corps during the 1960s in South America. He has since served on the organization's board of directors, and has traveled with his wife throughout the world to see the organization's work firsthand.

"This infusion of capital dramatically transforms people's lives, and in the end, keeps a greater percentage of their babies alive. The protein and milk saves lives," he said.

The fund-raiser drew both Heifer International supporters and gardening enthusiasts, including Bull Valley resident Pam DeVoe and her neighbor, Shamus Misek, a self-described "hosta virgin."

As DeVoe admired the intricately embroidered, colorful Indian textiles, Misek commented he was also a fan of the nursery's selection of rare pine trees.

"I won't get out of here without buying something," he said.

The large selection of hostas was the work of Rich Eyre's 87- year-old mother, Margaret, who divided hundreds of plants over the course of the summer.

"It's something I really enjoy," Margaret Eyre said. "The fact that I can contribute to the charity and I get to be working outside - that's why I do it."

Her garden assistants included 13-year-old Madeline Zell of Lake in the Hills, who along with her sister, 10-year-old Rachel Zell, were recruited by their grandmother, Doris Brietzky of Woodstock. The three also addressed and stamped 7,000 Hosta Happening postcards.

"I wanted to teach my granddaughters about doing things to help others," Brietzky said.

Madeline Zell described the gardening as "dirty but fun," and Rachel Zell rescheduled her own birthday party in order to spend Saturday morning at the Hosta Happening.

"Helping out felt really good," Rachel said.