Haley Tuck Plans to study marketing in college • Lifelong Hinsdale resident and member of Union Church • National Honor Society member • Has a dog named Lola • Avid soccer player
For many, the days leading up to Christmas involve shopping, decorating and wrapping gifts. For Haley Tuck, that time of year has often been filled with rehearsals, costumes and lots of children.
Tuck has been part of Union Church's annual Christmas pageant for as long as she can remember, first as a cast member and more recently as an organizer of the church's long-standing tradition.
"I've been every single possible thing," said Tuck, who over the years portrayed various animals and an angel in the retelling of Christ's birth.
"As you get older, you graduate to the different parts," she noted.
Now a senior at Hinsdale Central High School, it's been several years since Tuck performed in the pageant. This year, she stepped back behind the curtain to help bring the annual pageant to the stage. She and another intern helped Penny Johnson,
director of Christian education and administration manager at the church, to direct almost 40 children in the production of this year's play.
Anyone who wants to be part of the pageant is welcomed, Tuck said. This year's cast was among the biggest yet, requiring the creation of a few additional donkey costumes in order to outfit the expanding herd.
"The angels have the biggest costumes," Tuck said, complete with wings and halos.
Tuck said that during her years as a cast member, the church occasionally expanded the Christmas performance beyond the Bible's telling of Christ's birth. She played Lucy in a performance of "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and narrated the story of "Scrooge."
The pageant was presented during the church's worship service Sunday, Dec. 22. A highlight is the traditional singing of "Silent Night," which the children perform while holding battery-operated candles.
"It's rewarding to see it all come together," she said.
Tuck said many of this year's cast members were familiar to her, not only as fellow members of the church, but as participants in vacation Bible school.
"I help a lot in the summer as a vacation Bible school counselor," she said.
Volunteering, Tuck said, is an important part of her life, due in no small part to her lifelong relationship with Union Church of Hinsdale. She said the church has taught her the importance of contributing to her community, which she also does as a member of the Infant Welfare Society Junior Board.
Like the Infant Welfare Society itself, the Junior Board supports the Angel Harvey Family Health Center in Chicago.
"This year, we created baby baskets," Tuck said, which were filled by Junior Board members with necessities for new moms in need.
Despite her many performances at Union Church, Tuck said she's never been bitten by the theater bug. But the role of volunteer is one Tuck plans to continue as she attends college and throughout her life.
"I definitely want to continue volunteering wherever I end up for college," she said.
- story by Sandy Illian Bosch, photo by Jim Slonoff
