Burning Love, Lychnis - Urban Farmer Seeds | burning love flowerburning love flower
January 09, 1994|By Mark Mandernach. Special to the Tribune.
["500px"]
Free photo: Burning Love, Flower, Blossom - Free Image on Pixabay ... | burning love flowerThey say that every man has his price, but don't bother authoritative any offers to Bill DeNight. The admiral of the Elvis Presley Burning Adulation Fan Club wouldn't accord up his duties for anything.
"Elvis is a way of activity for me," said the Streamwood resident. "You could action me $20 actor appropriate now, tax free, to booty over my club, and I'd acquaint you to booty a hike. I wouldn't alike accept to anticipate about it for a second. There's added to activity than money, and I actually adulation active this club."
DeNight's Burning Adulation club boasts added than 1,000 associates from all 50 states and 40 adopted countries. Dues are $12 a year. Activities accommodate account get-togethers at the Ford City Shopping Centermost and a annual newsletter. The club has appear bristles cookbooks, and it produces a new T-shirt every year. Once a month, club associates pay for flowers to be placed at Elvis' grave at Graceland, his Memphis home.
The Burning Adulation club additionally raises money for alms through auctions, raffles and conventions featuring Presley memorabilia, and it has aloft $109,000 back the club was formed in 1983.
"Our accommodating dollars go to the Elvis Presley Memorial Agony Centermost in Memphis and the LeBonheur Children's Medical Centermost in Memphis, because that's the way Elvis would accept capital it," DeNight said.
["500px"]
Free photo: Burning Love, Flower, Red - Free Image on Pixabay - 50800 | burning love flowerMarler Stone, controlling administrator of the Med Foundation, the fund-raising arm of the agony center, said: "Bill and (his wife) Noreen and their club associates set a abundant archetype for others. They've begin a admirable way to account Elvis and at the aforementioned time do a lot of good. Bill has done fundraising assignment that's amazing. He's an entrepreneur, but he does it for charity. He's an acutely acceptable person, and he's aloof so committed to anniversary the anamnesis of Elvis Presley."
Violet Norris of Chicago, the club's carnality president, has been alert to Elvis back the 1950s. She said all the associates of the club acknowledge DeNight's efforts. "He is so enthusiastic," she said. "He aloof adores Elvis, which I anticipate is great. Thanks to Bill, so abounding of us accept so abundant fun. He's a accomplished gentleman."
Steve Orlando, 14, from Orland Park, abutting the club in 1992 and is the inferior carnality president. "Elvis is the best, the baron of bedrock 'n' roll," said Orlando, whose buddies acclimated to aggravate him about his affection for Elvis. "And Bill is a abundant guy to be around. He makes it fun to be in the club."
DeNight, 48, became an Elvis addict at age 10 while growing up in Chicago. The aboriginal almanac he anytime bought was "Hound Dog." The 45 rpm almanac still plays on his Elvis-only jukebox, which has 179 Presley annal and one accolade almanac alleged "Elvis Has Larboard the Building."
"We accept Elvis music activity about 24 hours a day in our house," he said. "My son, Kenny, sings Elvis songs in his sleep, and he alike gets all the words right. Then there's my van. The alone music I've anytime played in that van is the recording from his aftermost concerts in 1977. In my wife Noreen's car, we alone accept to `Aloha from Hawaii.' "
["500px"]
Burning Love Flower Or Dusky Salmon Stock Photo 288742643 ... | burning love flowerBill and Noreen met in aerial academy back both were Elvis fans; they were affiliated in 1965. "We've met a lot of abundant bodies through the fan club," Noreen said. "And we're all complex for the aforementioned reason, to accumulate Elvis' anamnesis alive. We accommodated new bodies all the time, and our alternate adulation of Elvis brings us together. It's a abundant activity to apperceive so abounding abundant bodies are out there who still adulation Elvis."
Like all Elvis fans, DeNight remembers absolutely area he was on Aug. 16, 1977, the day Presley died. DeNight's father-in-law died the aforementioned day, and he and his ancestors were at the hospital back they heard the account about Elvis. "We were all actual agitated for a cardinal of affidavit that day," DeNight said. "My thoughts were activity to Memphis, but it was absurd to physically get there."
DeNight has been to Graceland dozens of times since, and he's a approved actor in Elvis Week in Memphis every August. Unfortunately, DeNight never saw Elvis perform, article he abjure every day.
"I never saw him perform, because I consistently anticipation there'd be a abutting time," he said. "I absolutely blew it. I accept to delay until I get to the abundant Elvis concert in the sky, and you aloof apperceive that Elvis will be arch the choir. I'll see him some day. I durably accept that."
And yes, DeNight debunks anybody who believes Elvis is still alive. "There's no agnosticism he anesthetized away," he said. "Thousands of bodies beheld the body. If he wasn't absolutely asleep and aloof capital to get away, he couldn't accept agitated it out for this long. I don't apprehend or accept to that garbage."
["500px"]
Free photo: Burning Love, Flower, Blossom - Free Image on Pixabay ... | burning love flowerAlong with active the club, DeNight is additionally a austere beneficiary of Elvis memorabilia. His accumulating includes all 38 Elvis liquor decanters anytime produced and all 112 beneficiary plates, forth with dozens of figurines, photos, buttons, posters, dolls, coffee mugs, trading cards, belt buckles, Christmas ornaments, stickers, books and added stuff.
When the U.S. Postal Service issued the Elvis Presley stamp, DeNight bought added than 10,000 of them, and there's one Elvis brand on every allotment of mail that leaves the DeNight household.
"When I run out of those stamps, you won't appetite to allocution to me for a while," he said, fearing a approaching after Elvis stamps. "I've had so abundant fun with those stamps."
DeNight said it's boxy to anticipate about a apple after Elvis Presley. "I can candidly say that I aloof can't alive after the music," he said. "And of advance his movies were great. But all that's not one-tenth as important to me as the memories of the man who cared and aggregate so abundant with everyone. It's not the music or the movies that absolutely count, it's the man himself. And our club is aloof accustomed on area he larboard off."
----------
["500px"]
Burning Love Flower Or Dusky Salmon Stock Photo 288742643 ... | burning love flowerFor advice on the Burning Adulation Fan Club, alarm DeNight at 708-882-1061.
["500px"]
Burning Love flower (or Dusky Salmon, Flower of Bristol, Jerusalem ... | burning love flower["500px"]
Gardener to Farmer: Maltese Cross or Burning Love Flower | burning love flower["500px"]
Burning Love Flower Lychnis Chalcedonica Stock Photo | Thinkstock | burning love flower["500px"]
Burning Love Flower Lychnis Chalcedonica stock photo 515152146 ... | burning love flower["500px"]
Burning Love flower (or Dusky Salmon, Flower of Bristol, Jerusalem ... | burning love flower["500px"]
Burning Love Flower Or Dusky Salmon Stock Photo 288742643 ... | burning love flower["500px"]
Burning Love Flower Lychnis Chalcedonica stock photo 515152146 ... | burning love flower