CHRIS FOX PHOTO
Jason and Tracy Herbers of Villa Park adopted a holiday tree along the village’s portion of the Illinois Prairie Path this year. The Villa Park Chamber of Commerce’s tree-adoption program made 72 trees available during the current holiday season. The 4-foot, pre-lighted trees are along the path from Villa Avenue to near the village’s western border with Lombard. Sponsors are encouraged to decorate their adopted trees. On Saturday, Nov. 28, the Herbers family decorated its tree, which is located just east of Cornell Avenue. “This is the first year we’ve sponsored a tree; we’ve been wanting to do it,” said Tracy Herbers, who lives with her husband Jason and their 7-month-old daughter Francesca on the 300 block of South Illinois Avenue. “We thought it would be nice to give some gloves. We’ve walked on this path, sometimes forgetting gloves. We thought it would be a fun little idea for this year.” The Herbers family’s “Giving Tree” is decorated with sealed pairs of gloves for children and adults. “We hope so; we want them to,” said Tracy when asked if she thought path users would take gloves from the tree. A message on the tree states, “Take a pair of gloves for yourself or someone in need!” The photo from Saturday shows (left to right) Jason and Tracy Herbers, their daughter Francesca, Kristin Meyer (Tracy’s sister) and Tracy and Kristin’s parents—Flo and Bob Meyer. Tracy’s sister and parents are from Buffalo, New York; they visited Villa Park for Thanksgiving. Jason and Tracy are holding their two Boston Terriers—(left to right) Shyla and Otis. As the family finished decorating the tree, another Villa Park family passed by and took three pairs of gloves.
