Lee High School - Huntsville Alabama Alumni

The Christmas Tree

By Don Wynn

December 22, 2002

‘Nothing exceeds the Love of a Father for his daughter.’

As the young parents were awaiting the birth of their child, they pondered the name that this new member of the family would have. They imagined all sorts of names in every imaginable combination. They; in their whimsy, talked about naming this little girl Christmas Joy. Finally they decided that she would be Christmas Joy to them but her name would simply be Joy.

When Joy was six years old, she was aware of all the festivities surrounding Christmas and was especially interested in the Christmas decorations. All the pretty colors and glitter made the season even more special. Christmas decorations always made the house seem even more joyous than it normally felt. Everyone was especially cheerful and the house was filled with a jovial, holiday spirit. Excitement was building!

At the beginning of December, little Joy began to ask ‘Daddy, when are we getting our tree?’

‘Soon Honey, I promise’ was his answer.

Everyday, Joy rushed her Dad as he arrived home from work with the excitement that a 6 year old brings to any conversation. The same question was always offered and the answer was always the same. This routine went on for several days. Each time, Joy’s question seemed more urgent than the day before.

After about a week of the same routine, Joy’s Daddy decided to leave work early so he and his daughter could go into the woods near their home to select a Christmas Tree.

Just as he opened the door to their house, Joy rushed him.

‘Daddy, When are we gonna get our Christmas Tree?’

‘Honey, We’re going to get it right now!’

Shrieks of joy and excitement filled the house as little Joy ran to tell her Mom.

‘Mom, We’re gonna get a tree, we’re gonna get a tree right now!’

It’s cold in Kentucky in December and especially at twilight when the heat of the day disappears under the first starlight. Joy’s Daddy got her coat, cap, gloves and shoes and helped her get them on as she wiggled around in the chair. Excitement and movement just naturally go together in children. Joy was excited and she was moving all over the place.

When they were standing on the porch, snow had just started to fall. The sun hadn’t gone down yet but and stars were already visible. The moon was full and the sky would be bright even after the sun had gone to sleep. The wind was blustery and it really felt like Christmas. There was a cold wind in their faces but a warm excitement in their hearts.

Seizing the moment only as a child can, Joy gripped her Daddy’s hand and headed into the woods. She raced from one small tree to the next seeming to examine each tree, one after the other. ‘This ones pretty, Daddy.’ ‘This one is too!’

Every tree was truly pretty, it was a beautiful night made even more beautiful by a special event between a young girl and her Dad. Joy’s Daddy was amazed at how beautiful everything was. He hadn’t realized it before but the woods around their house was a very beautiful place, maybe even grand. He felt the excitement that was filling the heart of his daughter and his eyes began to tear just a little. Encountering unexpected beauty can do that, even to grown men, maybe especially to grown men!

Finally, Joy found the most beautiful tree in the forest and perhaps even the most beautiful tree in the whole world. Her Daddy could not imagine a more beautiful tree. It was just a little taller than Joy and was proportioned perfectly. The branches cascaded over one another as if posing for a Christmas Card. As Joy seemed to dance around the tree, her Dad just stood there taking in the beauty of this special event. Blessings come at sweet times like this.

Finally, he sat down his pack and took out his bow saw. He kneeled at the base of the little tree preparing to cut it as near the ground as possible. ‘Wait Daddy, don’t hurt my tree!’

‘It won’t hurt your tree, honey.’

‘But Daddy, it will!’

Joy must have expected her Dad to get the tree just like a potted plant. Her Daddy just stood there trying to decide what to do. Finally he had an idea.

For the next few weeks leading up to Christmas, Joy told everyone she met about her tree. “Mom says it is Beautiful and it is too!’ ‘You should see it!’

She was sharing Christmas Cheer with everyone in town. Winter gloom turned to small town excitement. Joy was spreading Christmas Joy to everyone she met. Enthusiasm and youthful exuberance seemed to be infecting people. The little town was experiencing a wondrous transformation brought on by a little girl.

Joy’s tree became a topic of conversation about town. Women talked about it in the grocery store and in the beauty parlor. Men talked about it at work and at the barbershop. All the teachers in school and all of her classmates talked about Joy’s beautiful tree.

Finally, her Daddy decided that everyone should see Joy’s Christmas Tree for themselves. He sent out an open invitation for everyone in their little town to visit their home on Christmas Eve. He was a respected man around town and people would have accepted his invitation based upon that alone but they were also eager to see the Christmas Tree that had caused such excitement. Christmas was eagerly anticipated by the entire community and Joy’s Christmas Tree was one of the reasons.

Finally, on Christmas Eve, people began to arrive at their home in the woods. They came in the house with a sense of anticipation. The smell of Christmas cooking mixed with the smell of pine boughs and holly filled the home and added warmth to the heart of everyone there. Christmas songs were playing on the radio and the magic was so strong that everyone felt it. Men shook hands and patted each other on the back; women hugged each other exchanging Christmas cheer with friends and neighbors.

People were polite but they just couldn’t find a beautiful tree anywhere. ‘Where’s Joy’s Tree?’ they seemed to be asking each other in muffled whispers. Was there some mistake? Had everyone misunderstood? People stood in small groups sipping on warm cider sharing their best Christmas wishes. Good humor was everywhere.

Finally, someone asked little Joy, ‘Didn’t you tell me that you had a beautiful Christmas Tree?’

‘It’s the most beautiful Tree ever!’ She said.

Just then she took the hand of the lady who had asked and guided her to the big window at the side of the house. ‘See!’ As she pointed out the window. Through the woods, the lady saw the most beautiful Christmas tree ever. It was standing in a small clearing just a small distance from the house. It had some colored lights on it and some Christmas Ornaments too! The wind was blowing and the little tree was swaying gently. It was moving as though it was directing a Christmas Choir.

That tree took the breath away from all the people who saw it. They gathered at the window, staring at the most beautiful, uplifting sight that anyone had ever seen. The guests of the house framed by that picture window, sang Christmas Carols guided by the movements of that little tree in the woods.

God does some amazing things to lift human spirits as he celebrates the birth of his son! He gives us simple, everyday things with a grandeur that can take our breath away if we just see them through the eyes of a child.

Please Have a Merry and Joyous Christmas

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Tommy Towery, Class of '64 - I was quite happy to see that many others shared the same memory that I have of the binoculars, and think of Lookout Mountain when they see them. That's the first place that came to my mind.

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Bruce Fowler, Class of 2^6 - The Mystery Photo is of a device that is at once a vending machine and an optical apparatus. My first memory of these was of an observation area on Lookout Mountain somewhere in the general area of Rock City. One deposited a coin - I don;t recall the denomination - and a timed shutter was released that allowed one to look through the eyepieces and see a magnified view of whatever the observation site was purported to permit you to see. After an amount of time the shutter closed.

I have never had the opportunity to inspect the innards of one of the devices so I cannot say whether the optics were true binoculars or just field glasses. My strongest recollection in that the optics were very poor and the image quality strikingly less than unaided sight. In that regard, I also recall my first experience with them was on a hazy day which triggered a life long interest in the optics of atmospheric aerosols.

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Mary (Ardrey) Aukerman, Class of '66 - That is a binocular type thing that lets you see points of interest up close and personal. I first remember using one at Mt. Rushmore, South Dakota in 1962. You could only get so close at the visitor's center so we put our quarter's in to see the detail on the President's faces. I have since used those in several place to get a closer view.

Thanks for the things you find to jog our memories of sweeter, more simple days.

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Chip Smoak, Class of '66 - I was 10 years old the first time that I saw one of these was at Rock City in Chattanooga which I really enjoyed. I do not know what they are called but I remember putting a quarter in one to see five state. The best name that I can give the item is "pay binoculars".

Being the politically incorrect sort I want to wish all the Fami-LEE a very, very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!

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Tony Wynn, Class Year Other - Hey, Finally an item that I know. This was a viewer for seeing in the distance. The first one that I remember was on top of Lookout Mountain. If memory serves me you would put a dime in it and look out in the distance off of the mountain. I guess no one had binoculars back then.

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Jeff Fussell, Class of '66 - The coin-operated binoculars in the picture were a pretty common sight at scenic places we have visited. I've got to say that I have generally been pretty underwhelmed by them. Three kids sharing a quarter's worth of viewing time is a sure-fire way to start a ruckus.

The ones they have at Rock City help us to see seven states -- or so the sign says. I am not completely convinced that there were actually seven states in the viewfinder. I'm not sure what I was expecting to see, perhaps if I could have seen the dashed lines and contrasting pastel colors like the map, I could be more sure about it. Anyway, the quarter is long gone and all I saw were close-up trees.

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