Donna Herndon knows every story for every ornament on her two angel trees.
The matching, hand-beaded ornaments that her brother, Ed Grogan, brought home from a mission trip to Guatemala. The one crafted by her childhood best friend’s blind mother. The one cross-stitched by a friend.
Every ornament tells a story. Every ornament holds a memory. And since the COVID-19 pandemic began earlier this year, every ornament helps to brighten Herndon’s 4,979 Facebook friends’ news feed.
When the pandemic began, Herndon decided to start posting photos of her thousands of angel ornaments to brighten the dark and uncertain days. She told the story of each ornament pictured, and people responded with encouragement.
“In these days of unique times, my angels have brought me joy and light,” Donna says. “If sharing them has brought joy to others, I’ll keep sharing.”
She began her collection about 55 years ago, when friends and family started giving her ornaments. Her late husband, Woody, realized shortly into their relationship that any time he gave her angel ornaments, it would “put a smile on my face and make my heart happy,” she recalls.
“Through the years, he gave me lots of ornaments,” Donna says. “And, of course, there’s so many special memories attached to those.”
One of those is a purple angel holding a harp that plays music when strummed, and another is a tiny angel in a swing. There are also the angel ornaments that they bought on vacations. She says Woody had such a whimsical sense of humor that often showed when he found unique ornaments.
As the ornament collection grew, Donna designated one tree for her angels. Her late son, Roger, photographed the tree and entered it into a Good Housekeeping holiday contest, which earned an honorable mention.
When Woody underwent chemotherapy more than 20 years ago, Donna stayed so busy caring for him that she left her angel tree up until February. “He said, ‘Why don’t you leave the tree up,’” she says. “I said, ‘All the time?’”
Woody replied yes and said, “How else can you add a whole month to your life? It takes you two weeks to put it up and two weeks to take it down.”
He also told Donna that the angels had comforted him during his chemotherapy and reminded him of their friends, family, and community praying for him.
And so, the angel tree tradition began.
The collection that began with one tree grew into a second tree in her sunroom. Both stay up year-round.
Twelve years ago, the first tree started to show signs of wear and tear because of the weight of the ornaments. They had weighed the tree down so much that lights were the only thing holding the tree together. So, Donna bought a larger tree and put the ornaments back on.
Through the years, Donna has collected thousands of angel ornaments from around the globe. Friends and family send ornaments to her throughout the year, and she looks for ornaments when she travels or shops.
“I’ve always believed in angels and been fascinated by angels,” Donna says. “There are so many memories and so much love represented with these trees.”
As she holds up ornament after ornament, she recalls their stories. Some have written notes included, such as the one from her childhood best friend or the one from a German couple she and Woody befriended on a Rhine River cruise when she was pregnant with Roger.
“We conversed as best we could and exchanged addresses,” she recalls. “Every year at Christmas, I would get a card from them with a letter in German, and I’d have to have somebody at the university to translate it. I’d send them a letter in English, which their daughter would translate.”
Some stories cause misty eyes, while others evoke hearty laughter.
One angel ornament never made it to a tree. Her son, Roger, who died in a training accident in August 1991 while a cadet at West Point, gave her a sterling silver angel ornament the last Christmas he was alive. It stays on a chain around her neck and close to her heart.
“He loved the angel tree,” she said.
And the tree is filled with so much love.
