By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

For most of us, by February the thoughts of tree-trimming and holidays are put aside for a few seasons.

This is not the case for Helene Cabour, whose year-round labor of love leaves the trees at Brooksby Village decked out in hundreds of colorful hearts, just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Dubbed the “Queen of Hearts” time and again, Cabour has hand-made hearts for more than 15 years. “You know, it makes everyone smile,” Cabour says of the hearts. “I love colors and I love to keep my hands busy.”

Creative beginnings
Cabour, who lived in Germany until 1958, was a quilter long before she began making hearts. But while living in Winchester, Mass., in winter 1992, she thought of a use for the leftover scraps of cloth she had accumulated.

She made a few small stuffed hearts to wrap around gifts. That year, Cabour also put 75 pairs of hearts on the tree in her front yard, but without receiving much attention. It wasn’t until the following year that passersby began to notice, she says.

“After four years, it became an event,” she says of decorating the tree, which at one point was adorned with as many as 2,000 pairs of hearts. When she sold her house to move to Brooksby about three and a half years ago, the new owners wanted to continue the tradition. With some help and hearts from Cabour, the Winchester home is still an attention-grabber.

Heartfelt commitment
Now at Brooksby, Cabour  has kept up her heart-making regimen, working about two hours daily at work stations she set up in her kitchen and in the den of her apartment home.

Cabour admits she has the process down to a science. “I make hearts faster than I walk,” she says.

Cabour also works with the Heart Ladies, a group she formed on campus that meets weekly to make hearts and other crafts.