Sandy Hook Woman Shares In Decorating

‘The People’s House’

By Nancy K. Crevier

Family and friends of Maria Obolewicz of Sandy Hook know that she delights in decorating for the Christmas season. Every room on the first floor of her home is a winter wonderland of Santas, crèches, angels, ceramic trees, sleighs, snow villages, bells, ribbons, and bows that reflect her tasteful talent for decorating.

But it is not her love of decorating for the season that drove her this past summer to apply to be one of the 130 volunteers who decorate the White House for the holidays, she said, but rather her love of American history.

A native of Italy, Ms Obolewicz arrived in the United States at the age of 8, and has taken her new country to heart ever since.

“I love American history, and that is my focus,” she said. “I try to read anything I can about American history, ever since I was in elementary school. I remember watching Jackie Kennedy’s White House tours on television as a child, and it seemed like a magical place to me,” said Ms Obolewicz. “When I read about presidents and what they’ve done for this country, I find it amazing,” she added.

Last Christmas, her daughter gave her the Christmas At The White House book, a compilation of holiday decorating photographs and stories covering the Jackie Kennedy era to Laura Bush. It added fuel to her fire, that of volunteering to decorate at the Washington, D.C., presidential home.

“I had heard about the volunteers that decorate the White House for Christmas, and had known about that for years. I always thought it would be an interesting thing to take part in,” she said. This past summer, she decided it was time, and put in her application.

“When I want something, I’m very determined,” she laughed.

Part of the application process was to include why the volunteer wanted to be a part of the decorating team. Her answer was a brief, three-paragraph essay that captured her heartfelt desire. The greatest reason, she said, was “In gratitude for what this country has afforded me since those days long ago [as a young child arriving at Ellis Island]. I am humbled to possibly have the opportunity in helping with the Christmas decorations at The People’s House.”

Ms Obolewicz received conditional approval in mid-September. That was followed by a security check that took a bit more than two weeks. Finally, in mid-October, the good news arrived that she and 129 other volunteers from across the nation, many professional decorators and entertainers, with military connections, and “some others, just ordinary people like me,” had been selected to take part in the 2012 “Shine, Give, Share” decorating of the White House.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Ms Obolewicz said, but she immediately began planning for the November 24 through 30 trip to Washington D.C., the entire cost of which is the responsibility of the volunteers. “It is not inexpensive to take part,” she said, “but I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

According to the whitehouse.gov website, “Our theme for this 2011 holiday season is ‘Shine, Give, Share,’ which offers an opportunity to pay tribute to our troops, veterans, and their families throughout the White House. This year, the official tour features 37 Christmas trees; 30 are natural trees and 7 are made from paper, felt or aluminum; a gingerbread model of the White House made of 400 pounds of gingerbread, white chocolate and marzipan plus five different representations of First Dog Bo.”

The volunteers arrived Thanksgiving Day and received their assignments. Ms Obolewicz was part of the group decorating the East Visitor Entrance Landing and East Visitor Reception Room, as well as the State Dining Room.

“There was an overwhelming sense of pride and honor among all of the volunteers,” she said, from the youngest, a 13-year-old girl, to the eldest, a woman well into her 80s. “We all wanted to be there. No one had reservations,” Ms Obolewicz observed. No matter what the assignment was, not a single complaint was heard.

The workdays were long. Volunteers walked to the White House from nearby hotels, checked in through very tight security — three checks of name tags, photo ID, and any items carried in thoroughly searched before entering the building — to start the day at 6:30 am, staying until 4:30 pm.

Friday and Saturday were spent in a warehouse, refurbishing used decorations and creating new ones, as well as assisting with stringing the variously sized acrylic snowflakes for hanging in the Grand Foyer. A designer for each room being decorated in the White House was in charge, but there was a sense of camaraderie between all volunteers and designers, said Ms Obolewicz. “Everyone did their best, and were such creative, creative people. It brought the best out of us,” she said. (As most of the volunteers are equally in love with decorating their homes and have boxes and boxes of holiday collections, as does Ms Obolewicz, they could not help but envy the warehouse storage space, she added.) Everything created in the warehouse those two days was then shipped to the White House and put into the appropriate areas, so that work could begin Sunday morning.

She had studied her White House guidebook before going, to the point that her husband had to remind her, “It’s not a test!” But stepping into the White House to begin work was more amazing than she had anticipated.

“Everything is just as grand as in the book in real life, but there is a presence in the White House that you don’t get through a book. It’s a presence of all the people who have lived there. It’s a living museum, a living timeline of US history,” said Ms Obolewicz. A Sunday luncheon served to volunteers, in the State Dining Room, was spine tingling for the American history buff.

“My hands were shaking, and I was trying to keep my composure. But you think about everyone that has passed through that very room and the families that have been there; about so much history having taken place there… And here we were, casually having lunch. It was incredible,” she said.

She was also awed by the quote she spotted from President John Adams, that President F.D. Roosevelt had had engraved upon the fireplace. “It was from a letter John Adams wrote to his wife his first night in the White House, and I think it is so beautiful: ‘I pray Heaven to bestow the best of Blessings on this House and all that shall hereafter inhabit it. May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this roof.’”

It reminded her of the humanness of the presidents and families that have occupied the White House for generations. Despite the grandeur and elegance of the White House, it is still very well suited for family living, Ms Obolewicz said. “It is not so big as it looks in pictures, and has a very livable feel to it, as grand as it is,” she said.

The decorating days did pass quickly, with so much to do, said Ms Obolewicz. The East Visitor Entrance Landing was decked out in trees and garlands studded with silver ornaments. Long, thick garlands of real evergreens draped doorways, with strands of silver-colored ivy woven through. In the reception area, Ms Obolewicz assisted in hanging the hundreds of ornaments on the tree there and decorating the room with copper- and fuchsia-colored decorations, a color theme that was carried throughout every room in some manner, she said. Each ornament was placed thoughtfully, and the finished products were a tribute to the “Shine, Give, Share” theme.

From there, she added her touch to the decorating of the State Dining Room, where fuchsia, copper, and gold decorations were interwoven with frosted flowers and fruit clusters. Draping the two 14-foot trees that flanked the fireplace there was a garland made of live magnolia leaves. The Frasier fir garland surrounding the fireplace incorporated the magnolia leaves, as well, and included fresh boxwood and eucalyptus leaves. Again, the decorations and garlands were put in place in a selected manner.

By Tuesday at noon, only two-thirds of the tree she and others were working on was completed. “But even knowing we had to be done by Tuesday night, there was no sense of rushing. It was a very friendly atmosphere,” said Ms Obolewicz.

The volunteers also had time on that final day of decorating to view all of the other rooms that had been decorated, as well as the Grand Foyer. “It was such an experience, that we had the chance to really look at the White House and not just decorate. At least for me, everything historical flashes by as I walk past the portraits and the rooms where they entertain and meet guests, and I think of the historical figures that have walked these very places.”

In the Grand Foyer, Ms Obolewicz found herself astounded by the beauty and simplicity of the decorations. “There was a lot of use of natural decorations like pine cones, and clear lights, which reflected off of tiny crystals in the garlands, no bigger than my fingernail. And the snowflakes were all hanging down. It was so beautiful in its simplicity,” she said.

The five days of decorating culminated in an afternoon reception in the Grand Foyer, Wednesday afternoon, before all of the volunteers dispersed back to their everyday lives. “Michelle [Obama] came down the grand staircase and greeted and thanked all of us volunteers for our work,” she said.

The only tangible item brought home from the experience is the apron and nametag she wore while decorating. “But,” said Ms Obolewicz, “I have a treasure chest of memories.”

A video of decorating the White House for 2011 can be viewed at www.hgtv.com/video/2011-white-house-christmas-video.