This group is caroling on

Lolita Harper

The harmonizing leaves something to be desired, but the Christmas

spirit that fuels the Clean, Serene Christmas Caroling Team is

unsurpassed.

Ron Young, who has organized an annual caroling group for the last 16

years, described himself as tone deaf, but wouldn’t miss a chance to

serenade people each Dec. 23.

“I don’t sing well but you put the Christmas spirit into it and it

comes out great,” he said.

He and a core group of Costa Mesa residents have made it an annual

tradition to bring the joy of Christmas -- in a musical form -- to

patients in Hoag Hospital and area convalescenthomes for years. Each year

the group starts off at Flagship Healthcare Center in Newport Beach. From

there, they move to different units at Hoag Hospital and then onto

Beverly Manor.

The group varies in size each year from 25 to 100 people, Young said,

depending on who responds to the marketing. Carolers range in age from 6

to 76, he added.

His recruiting strategy is simple:”I just put out a flier and they

come,” Young said.

Like the recruiting process, the caroling guidelines are also modest.

“None of us are quitting our day jobs,” Young said.

They don’t wear fancy costumes or practice harmonies before time --

the sheet music even contains some typos -- but the effects of their

caroling is unparalleled.

“When people come to visit them, the residents are just ecstatic,”

said Jana Wehrley, the director of activities at Flagship.

Flagship houses elderly people who are in rehabilitation or those who

can no longer take care of themselves, she said.

While the seniors are blessed with frequent visits from family

members, their hearts are touched when total strangers take the time to

stop by, Wehrley said.

The fact that the carolers sing classic Christmas tunes brings a sense

of nostalgia to the event, Wehrley said, because the seniors can remember

holidays in the past, when they were singing the same songs.

Young and his longtime friend Ray Cutler, get a kick out of spending

time with the elderly also.

“I love the fact that some of the old guys like to hustle some of the

women. I guess some things never change,” Young said.

Cutler, who has been singing with the group since the beginning, said

visiting the convalescent homes is his favorite part of the yuletide

event. The 64-year-old Costa Mesa resident said he looks forward to it

every Christmas season.

“Seeing the people brighten up is so touching,” he said. “What better

reason if there to go?”

Young says he has a very clearly defined reason for continuing the

tradition.

“I just think about how blessed my life is and Christmas caroling

allows me to repay a little of the kindness God has shown me. I can pass

it on to other people,” Young said.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .