Mt. Pleasant couple’s Christmas tree a community favorite each year

One tree in Mt. Pleasant is set apart from the rest during the holiday season. Estimated to be about 35 feet tall, the blue spruce is decorated bottom to top with lights that can be seen from blocks away.

'It's the most important thing for me at Christmas is that tree. It holds a lot of memories,” said Vern Dorothy, owner of the tree at 300 N. Jackson Street in Mt. Pleasant.

How the tree came to reside on that property is another story, however.

Vern and his wife Carolyn Dorothy got married in 1949 when she was 16-years-old and he was 23-years-old. They bought a 114-acre farm in Stockport the next year, borrowing $8,300 at 4 percent interest to pay for it. It's where they raised their son and daughter, where they grew corn and beans and where they built a family.

The couple acquired the blue spruce and planted it on their farm property in 1980. But the ‘70s had been hard for the Dorothys financially.

'We hated to leave the farm, but the economy went so bad,” Vern said.

The farm was sold in 1988, and the Dorothys relocated to town and built the house they live in now. They dug up that blue spruce, which stood at about five feet tall, and replanted it on North Jackson Street.

'We just wanted something to remember the farm by,” Carolyn said.

Every Christmas, the tree was decorated, and every Christmas, the tree grew taller and taller.

Vern began decorating it using a stepladder, then for a few years tried to swing lights into the branches. Now, he has a little help from friends.

'It's the centerpiece of our decorations,” Vern said.

Christmas is important to both of the Dorothys. Carolyn said she just loves Christmas because it makes everyone happy. Vern said that as Christians, it's an important celebration for them of Christ's birthday.

'It's the time of year when you meet people on the street and they're smiling. I think God made it that way,” Vern said.

The tree is widely-known among the children of Mt. Pleasant. Carolyn said that one little boy has his dad pick him up from day care every day and drive past the tree.

Vern himself always watches for it on the drives home. 'I always look for it,” he said.

The Dorothys keep lights on the tree until mid-January.