Larry Macha is in awe of his wife, Virginia.
“I don’t know where she gets her energy,” he says of that boundless vitality that like a laser, hyper-focuses her on the task at hand. It’s not unusual, Larry said, to find his wife in the wee hours of the morning down in her studio crafting one of the magnificent arrangements for which she’s built a reputation.
For the holiday season, Virginia unleashes her artistic talent with yards of colorful ribbons and other delightful baubles that adorn fireplace mantles, doorways and every other nook and cranny around their spacious abode.
The Macha’s home, 2805 Funston St., will be for viewing Sunday afternoon as one of the five participating in the homes tour sponsored by the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at either the individual homes or at Duane’s Flowers, Classy Attic or at the rescue facility itself. The tour is from 1 to 6 p.m.
True to her nature, Virginia departs from traditional seasonal decor. One Christmas tree in their home is decorated in rich blues and greens. Hues of hot pink and lime green dominate the garland that drapes the entranceway. And over-the-top arrangements feel perfectly at home in their spacious home.
The Machas built their home in 2006. Larry estimates its two floors take up about 3,500 square feet. Views from its windows overlook the greens of Cedarbrook Golf Course north of town.
As a board member of ACARF, Larry holds the cause dear to his heart.
The good the animal shelter will do for all of Allen County, he said, is still a few years off. “It’ll probably take three years before a real change is noticed in the decrease of stray animals,” he said. “Right now we’ve adopted out 160 dogs and 30 cats, all who have been spayed so they can’t reproduce.”
The longterm effect of those neutered animals will multiply as time goes on, he said.
“In three years’ time we can predict a decrease of about 360 stray dogs alone,” he said.
The Machas have two dogs of their own, a 2 1/2-year-old boxador, a boxer and Labrador retriever mix, named Molly, and Daisy, a nine-month-old toy beagle.
Macha said the animal shelter is struggling to meet finances until its window of opportunity opens once it reaches six months in operation. At that date, the shelter will be able to vie for grants to help fund its day-to-day operations.
The biggest expense is the required manpower to clean the animal pens and keep the shelter up to sanitary codes, Larry said. “It’s an all-day chore that requires several people.”
So far the shelter has been able to receive free food for adult dogs through the K-Mart in Lawrence and Iola’s Walmart. The stores give the shelter their bags of food that have been accidentally torn or opened in some manner.
They still must purchase cat food and puppy food, he said.
