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Eldon’s Quilt tells story of overcoming
Edyta Sitar, quilt designer, was so inspired by the story of Eldon Korson of Rockford that she created this quilt. Eldon suffered a devastating brain injury from which doctors believed he would never recover. Today he is a student at college and a testament to the power of determination.
The lights and darks and the patched pieces sewn into Eldon’s Quilt represent good days, bad days, making the most of what’s at hand and piecing together what is available. That’s the story behind Eldon Korson, who today is a first-year student at Alma College, studying English with plans to someday teach at a university.
Two years ago, Eldon was in the hospital while his Rockford High School class of 2007 was graduating. His doctors told his family that he would never awake from the coma he was in, and if he did, he’d be a “vegetable.”
“Don’t ever let anyone tell you no,” said Eldon’s mother, Cheryl. “If we listened to what every doctor was telling us, we would have had no hope. They said he’s not waking up. He’s a vegetable. He will never walk and talk again.”
Edyta Sitar shows off the dramatic pattern in this quilt she designed after hearing Eldon Korson's incredible story.
Eldon’s determination and his remarkable recovery inspire his family. His grandmother, Pat, brags about him to her quilting class at Smith Owen Sewing Center. When Polish-born Edyta Sitar, quilt designer, heard about Eldon’s story, she was inspired, too. She spent six months thinking about how Eldon fought his way back from near death. She thought about how he almost died from pneumonia more than once while in a coma, and the difficult rehabilitation he faced when he did wake up. The two met for the first time Saturday, December 5, and Sitar told Eldon how his story affected her.
“I thought about you so much when I was working on this,” she said to Eldon of the beautiful and intricate creation she sewed in his honor. “I thought you would enjoy all the difficult pieces I used. I used dark and light in the pattern, because I know there are good days and bad days. I put different pieces together in the design. I thought of you while I was building it and holding it together. You were my inspiration.”
The quilt is simple in some ways. There are only two basic shapes, triangles and squares. It is also incredibly complex, with pieces sewn from bits and odd lots. That speaks of Eldon’s journey, too. “When you are confronted with trials and pressures, you can either break or be like a diamond,” Eldon said.
Eldon suffered a traumatic brain injury in 2007 when he was 17. Just two years later, he walks with a cane but is enjoying his first year at Alma. At the sewing center, he signed his autograph on the quilt patterns of some of his grandmother’s classmates. “He is a quilt celebrity,” one quilter said.
The quilt has already inspired others, too. Sitar has taken it across the country where the story and the piece itself has drawn attention. “People said, ‘Oh look at that, look at Eldon’,” Sitar said of responses she heard while displaying the piece. “Other people have made this quilt now, too.”
Cheryl said the family never gave up hope that Eldon would overcome his devastating injuries. “We had people all over the world praying for him,” she said. Friends went on a missionary trip to Rome and prayed for Eldon there.
“It sounds weird, but I could feel it,” Cheryl said. “I could feel the prayers. I know Eldon’s recovery is not due to us. That was God working.”
Sitar has the quilt on the road, spreading the story of hope and perseverance.
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‘Friends’ host annual New Year’s Walk, you’re invited
At the halfway point of the 2010 Friends of the White Pine Trail Resolution Walk is this permanently installed, metal-covered picnic table that was generously funded by the Wolverine World Wide Foundation.
by CLIFF AND NANCY HILL
The Friends of the White Pine Trail are hosting the ninth annual New Year’s Resolution Walk at 10:00 a.m. on New Year’s Day, Friday, Jan. 1.
Over the years, the annual New Year’s Day morning event has quietly built an ever-increasing number of participants who couldn’t think of a more fitting way to kick off a new year. The event is not just for members of the Friends; everyone is invited. The walk is totally free and noncompetitive. Young and old alike, many with dogs on leash, step off on a positive note into the New Year.
“This year’s walk is special, because we are entering a new decade, a decade where the Friends anticipate achieving their mission of seeing the Fred Meijer White Pine Trail [FMWPT] paved in its entirety all the way to Cadillac,” said Dave Heyboer, chairman of the Friends.
After posing for an annual group picture in front of Rockford’s downtown Rotary Pavilion, the walkers will stride off into the winter wonderland of the trail route, the FMWPT.
“The walk will take about an hour and is a great opportunity to catch up with friends, appreciate the beautiful view along the trail, or just enjoy a time of quiet contemplation,” Heyboer said.
Instead of heading north to 12 Mile Road, this year for the very first time the trekkers will head south. Yes south, so all can enjoy a different venue and see one of two new covered picnic tables that were generously funded by the Wolverine World Wide Foundation.
The total walk will cover approximately four miles with the halfway turn-around point being at the recently installed trailside picnic table just south of House Street.
Upon completing the walk, participants are invited to enjoy fellowship with one another in the warmth of the Rotary Pavilion, heated for the occasion. Refreshments, as always, will be cheerfully provided by the Friends.
So, dress accordingly and don’t be deterred by another “sky is falling” weather forecast by area meteorologists that might not be accurate. After all, this is West Michigan and it is winter!
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City buys former court building for $10
The City of Rockford is purchasing the former 63rd District Court building for a mere 10 dollars. The Kent County Board of Commissioners approved the sale on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
The City of Rockford will buy the former 63rd District Court building at City Hall for 10 dollars and allow Kent County to lease a portion of it for up to 75 years. The Kent County Board of Commissioners approved the deal on Tuesday, Dec. 15, after Rockford City Council did late last month.
“One of the stipulations is, if we win our lawsuit, that building immediately reverts back to county property, so they can bring the court back,” said Rockford City Manager Michael Young. “Our main focus is on bringing the court back to Rockford.”
Staff of the former Rockford court are now working out of a new building in Grand Rapids Township.
The City has had a long understanding to have the right of first refusal if the building were to come up for sale, and Young said he believes the city should control the building at 105 Maple Street. Both the court building and City Hall were built after removing residential homes from the block.
The City believes a court presence is required by law in the city and hopes to have recently moved Judge Servaas back in residence in the Rockford court building. Servaas and the former staff of the court are now working in a new court building in Grand Rapids Township.
Kent County contends the presence of a part-time magistrate fulfills the legal requirements for a court presence in the City of Rockford. A judge ruled that a court presence was required, but failed to define what the phrase actually means. A suit is currently in appeal, asking for a full court to be reinstated.
Young said he is surprised a ruling hasn’t yet been produced, but said he is hopeful because it has taken so long to rule. “If it was cut and dried, we probably would have heard by now,” he said.
Young also said gaining control of the building will also make it easier to reinstate a court presence. “If the county put something else in there, like the health department, it would be harder to bring the court back,” he said.
Nonprofit organizations such as the Rockford Chamber of Commerce or the Rockford Area Arts Commission may eventually be housed in the portion of the building the county will not use.
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Rockford Fire Department to bolster fire prevention efforts with grant
Excited to get started on their activity books provided by the Rockford Fire Department are photo at left (l–r) Brooklyn Vincent, 5, Kenneth Vincent, 3, Alexys Phillips, 4, and Derek Phillips, 8. The activity books are made possible by a fire prevention grant recently awarded
The Rockford Fire Department received a $1,500 fire prevention grant recently from FM Global, a leading property insurer of the world’s largest businesses based in Johnston, R.I. FM Global representatives presented the award to assist with fire prevention activities in the community to help educate the community and reduce the number of fires. Among the fire prevention efforts the grant allows is the publication and free distribution of child fire safety activity books.
Because fire continues to be the leading cause of commercial and industrial property damage worldwide, FM Global has contributed millions of dollars to fire services and related agencies around the globe working to prevent fire for more than three decades. Locally, the company has awarded grants to a number of Michigan-based organizations.
“At FM Global, we believe the majority of property damage is preventable—not inevitable—and we are pleased to make funding available to organizations, like the Rockford Fire Department, that share the same philosophy,” said Michael Spaziani, manager of FM Global’s Fire Prevention Grant Program. “After all, it’s much better to prevent a disaster than to recover from one.”
FM Global’s highly competitive Fire Prevention Grant Program (www.fmglobal.com/grants) awards grants quarterly to fire departments—as well as national, state, regional, local and community organizations worldwide—that best demonstrate a need for funding, where dollars can have the greatest impact on preventing, preparing for and controlling fire in the community.
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Rockford soldier takes Squire on second Iraq tour of duty
Rockford resident PFC Evan Halstedt shows a copy of The Rockford Squire at Camp Normandy, Iraq. PFC Halstedt is stationed at Fort Lewis, Washington, and is currently in his second tour of duty in Iraq. He is the son of Richard and Karen Halstedt of Rockford.
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