Elvis got it right with his Christmas classic, "Blue Christmas."
"I'll have a blue Christmas without you," he croons. "I'll be so blue just thinking about you. Decoration of red on a green Christmas tree won't be the same, dear, if you're not here with me."
For many during this holiday season, that couldn't be more true. The COVID-19 pandemic has people working to balance safety with traditions that make the season festive and merry.
At Bethel Lutheran Home, staff and administrators are working to balance state Department of Health guidelines with a desire to help residents celebrate. Following a rough summer when a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in Lake County was due, in part, to an outbreak at Bethel, the facility is currently COVID-free, according to Rosie Jamison, development director of the Bethel Lutheran Home Foundation.
The goal is to keep it that way. Precautions such as screening staff remain in place to keep the cornonavirus outside Bethel's walls.
As a result, many of the holiday festivities residents have enjoyed in the past are not possible this year. Groups of elementary students will not be able to carol and visit residents. The MasterSingers won't be sharing a Christmas concert with them. Instrumentalists won't be coming in to provide music during meals.
"It's really different not to see, hear and enjoy the celebrations we would have normally," Jamison said.
Fortunately, DOH guidelines have eased a little as more has been learned about COVID-19 and residents are not as isolated as they were earlier this year. By using social distancing, many normal activities have resumed. Residents can eat in the dining room, attend devotions and go to Bingo.
For a while, outdoor visits were also allowed, according to Jamison.
"We were so blessed with a mild fall. We were able to extend our visiting much longer than normal," she said.
Currently, friends and family members may continue to make window visits and use technology to keep in touch, as they have since Bethel locked down in response to the pandemic.
Even with the changes that have allowed much of life to return to some semblance of normal, Christmas is different. It would be easy for residents to take the Elvis classic to heart.
However, a card campaign has been launched with the hope that residents will have the opportunity to experience the joy of the season even though many of the traditional activities are not available. It began when Tyler Quenzer, a Dakota State University graduate and former sports information director, began to think about celebrating Christmas without seeing his beloved grandmother, Iola Robson.
"Growing up, my grandmother and I had a close bond," he said.
Although he was raised in the Twin Cities, his family often visited the farm outside Madison. There, he experienced a different lifestyle. He picked eggs and fed horses.
"She always made stuff so much fun," Quenzer said.
She also kept cookies in the cookie jar and helped him to become involved in the community when he was at college in Madison.
"Christmas was her favorite time of year," he said.
The long driveway to his grandparents' house was decorated with lights and the house became a family gathering place. They'd play cards and eat.
"My Gramma would always have Santa make an appearance," Quenzer recalled.
One year, when "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer" was popular, Robson surprised her grandchildren when they scrambled downstairs on Christmas morning.
"Here's my grandmother with a hoofprint on her forehead," Quenzer said. Now a father himself, he still remembers the impact that made on him as a child.
As Christmas approached, he recalled the many things that she had done to make the holiday special each year when he was a child. He found himself wanting to do something for her, especially since he hasn't seen her since January. He contacted friends and family to see if they would join him in sending her cards.
Then, Quenzer realized that sending cards to his grandmother alone wouldn't be enough to make the holiday special.
"If COVID is a challenge for me and my family and others, it's way more challenging for the residents at Bethel," he said.
He then contacted Jamison so see if a card shower for all of the residents would be acceptable to Bethel employees. After checking with Chuck Johnson, Bethel CEO and administrator, she jumped on board.
"It's sharing the spirit of Christmas and it's a gift from the heart," Jamison said. "It costs some time and it costs a stamp."
Since that time, Quenzer has rolled out the Christmas card campaign with a Letter to the Editor in The Daily Leader and an interview on KJAM. He's also contacted the Greater Madison Area Chamber of Commerce to disseminate flyers to area businesses and asked area churches to put information in Sunday bulletins. Schools have also been contacted.
With all of the outreach activities, Quenzer focuses on a single message: "These wonderful residents are our former leaders, workers and beloved members of Madison. They have contributed to the amazing community we have today."
Quenzer then asks that "as many Christmas cards as possible" be mailed to Bethel.
Jamison said they should be addressed: Merry Christmas Resident, Bethel Lutheran Home, 1001 S. Egan Ave., Madison, S.D., 57042. They can then be distributed unopened to residents who will have the opportunity to open the cards themselves.
She knows the residents will enjoy all of the cards received because each will demonstrate that community members care about them.
"Christmas cards are sharing part of yourself," she said.
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