Islander's recycled cheer lifts up spirits

Grand Manan resident Jeanne Ingalls, 91, combines creativity, recycling and goodwill by recycling used greeting cards into booklets that she gives to others at Christmas and other occasions.
Her project began in 1994. Besides being Community Life Church's historian, Ingalls looked after greetings for members' birthdays, and that year she was wondering what to do for someone's birthday. She discovered that she had some peach Bristol board, so she made a booklet out of it, cutting up greeting cards to arrange on the pages. The recipient "was so pleased," Ingalls recalls, so she decided to make more. She recently completed her 767th booklet.
She may stick whole cards on them or cut out smaller elements, or verses from the inside of a card. Each five-page booklet is hole punched and tied with a ribbon.
Most are distributed at Christmas. The nursing home residents each receive one. Throughout the year, she also makes booklets for birthdays, anniversaries and get well wishes. Noting that she received 50 cards on her 90th birthday, she says, "There are so many beautiful cards. I hate to throw them out." Others agree, and people who know about her work often donate them. Her stash is organized in a cabinet with sections for different occasions, and she tries to suit each booklet to the person's age and gender.
The booklets bring cheer and let people know someone is thinking of them. She recalls a man who was ill and perhaps feeling discouraged, who told her, "I can't get over you giving that to me."
Ingalls' gestures of kindness have touched many on the island, but she says modestly, "I'm alone and sometimes have time on my hands. It makes you feel like you've accomplished something, that you've cheered someone up a little."