The Christmas Tree That Lit Up a City

Joe at American House Lakeshore enjoyed a Chicago-style hot dog at the community’s food fest event before he sat down to share a very special Christmas story. The 96-year-old was in good spirits and had an undeniable zest for life.

“I’ve got some pictures I’d like to show you,” Joe said, reaching for a photo album. “This one is from June the fifth, 1953. The day I got married in Saint Jude Church in Detroit. Beverly, it was the happiest day of my life.”

Joe grew up in Detroit and after high school, served his country in Korea for two years. In 1972, Joe and his wife moved into a new home in Roseville, in Macomb County, about 13 miles northeast of downtown Detroit. It was around this time that Joe planted a small tree in his front yard, referring to the tiny, blue spruce tree as “my favorite little guy.”

The photos of Joe’s favorite little guy were bigger in 1982—and much bigger in 1992. The growing tree was starting to dwarf Joe and Beverly’s house. There are some images in Joe’s photo book where you couldn’t even see the house behind it. It didn’t stop growing until it reached … 80 feet.

Joe was not surprised the tree grew as high as it did.

“I just had a lot of faith in the blue spruce,” he said with a laugh.

He treated it with a special fertilizer every year and the neighbors on Joe’s street loved watching the tree grow. But the sheer size of it was starting to be a problem for the U.S. Postal Service. In 1999, the Detroit Free Press ran an ad looking for a Christmas tree for Hart Plaza. Joe called and told them about the tree in his front yard. Two days later, there was a knock on the door. When Joe opened it, the man from the Free Press didn’t hesitate: “We’ll take it,” he said, without even measuring it.

“Once they saw the tree, they knew,” Joe said. “The man said, ‘That’s a tree that can light up a city.’”

The Detroit recreation department needed a crane and a long trailer to take it away. Joe and Beverly were sad to see it go but were happy it was going to light up their hometown.

“It was the last tree to light up Detroit in the 20th century,” Joe said. “That tree of mine was a thrill of my life for a very long time. But one day I said, ‘Goodbye, tree,’ and it was gone. It was our gift to the City of Detroit.”

The tree lighting ceremony took place on November 22, 1999, in Hart Plaza, and was hosted by Detroit’s own legendary broadcaster, Chuck Gaidica, with a performance by the Rockettes. The program from that night’s ceremony thanks Joe for his generous donation to the city.

“Isn’t that something?” Joe said with a smile.

He and his beloved late wife Beverly donated the money they received for the tree to charity. They were just happy their tree lit up a city they had both loved since childhood.