The spirit of Christmas is shining brightly at Northumberland Hills Hospital (NHH), where the Rotary Club of Cobourg Courtyard was transformed into a festive holiday display on Saturday, November 14, 2026.
The courtyard lighting marks an extension of the Town of Cobourg’s popular Christmas Magic celebration, bringing the holiday display to another location and offering patients, families, visitors and hospital staff a little extra Christmas cheer.
But behind the lights is a family tradition that has been carried on by the next generation.
For years, hospital volunteers Dave Cromlish, Basil DeMattos and others served as Santa’s helpers, dedicating their time and energy to decorating the courtyard each Christmas.
Last year, after announcing their retirement from the annual decorating duties, two people stepped forward to make sure the tradition would continue.
Rick Cromlish, Dave’s son, and Natasha Jacobs, daughter of Basil DeMattos, joined forces to take over the project.
What began as an effort to continue their parents’ tradition soon grew into something bigger.
Rick, who works for the Town of Cobourg, helped establish a partnership that brought the hospital courtyard into the Christmas Magic celebration as an additional location.
“Today we’re decorating the courtyard at the hospital. This is our second year taking over with it and it’s going really well,” Rick told Today’s Northumberland.
He said his father and Basil had been decorating the courtyard for many years, and taking over was a way to ensure their work and dedication continued.
“It’s a really cool thing. Both Natasha and I surprised our parents with us saying that we’re going to take it over.”
Rick said the project has been rewarding, with volunteers from the Town and the community helping bring the display together.
“It’s a nice little tradition for it and it’s fun to do. I like doing it and there’s a lot of volunteers both with the town and outside of the town who have helped us with this the last couple years.”
The display combines some of the original handcrafted decorations with new additions and an expanded collection of lights.
Among the pieces are items created by previous courtyard elves, including Jim Maguire, with the familiar train remaining part of the display.
“And so we’ve carried over some of what they had done as a big part of it and we’ve just kind of added more lights and that sort of thing. So it’s a nice little blending of the two,” Rick said.
He added that the most important part of the project is what it means to those spending the Christmas season inside the hospital.
“It’s all for the people of the hospital that have to stay in here.”
“We got a lot of good feedback from it last year and we want to keep on doing this year after year and make sure that we keep on doing a good job of it and kind of brighten everybody’s spirits at the hospital when they’re here.”
For Dave Cromlish, the tradition dates back approximately 15 years.
“That’s got to be about 2011,” he said when asked when the decorating first began.
Dave explained that the original decorations included pieces carried over from the former hospital.
“I just came on to the board and we actually still had decorations from the old hospital and the very first year that’s what we had put up.”
Over the years, additional decorations were purchased and the display continued to grow.
Dave said seeing his son and Natasha step forward to continue the work was particularly special.
“I believe my son Rick and Natasha, came together and decided to continue on with the family tradition – I loved it..”
For Natasha Jacobs, the decision to continue the tradition was also deeply personal.
She described her father as one of the original courtyard elves, joking that the longtime volunteers were getting a little wiser and a little more silver-haired.
“When they decided to stop, I called up Rick and said, ‘Hey, I would love to be able to keep the tradition going. Would you do this with me?’ And he of course jumped on board.”
The partnership with the Town of Cobourg helped bring everything together as an extension of Christmas Magic.
But for Natasha, there was another reason why the courtyard lights hold such special meaning.
She said her mother, who passed away two years ago, had spent time as a patient at Northumberland Hills Hospital during the Christmas season.
Christmas was her favourite time of year, and seeing the courtyard illuminated while she was in hospital made a lasting impression.
“So for her to be a patient during Christmas, which is her favourite season, to have the courtyard lit up was really special for us because it kept the Christmas spirit alive.”
“We want to obviously continue that tradition for people who unfortunately are in the hospital during the Christmas season. This makes their day a little bit brighter.”
The courtyard display features handcrafted decorations from years past, new additions and festive lighting coordinated under the guidance of Jackie Chapman-Davis, the Town of Cobourg’s Manager of Culture, Events, Tourism and Waterfront, with support from the hospital’s Maintenance team.
What began in approximately 2011 as a volunteer effort by a group of hospital elves has now become a family tradition carried forward by their children.
And while the lights, decorations and familiar Christmas pieces bring the courtyard to life, the real purpose remains unchanged: making the holiday season a little brighter for those who find themselves spending Christmas at the hospital.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
