Deb Richmond, Steve Wertz, Patty Wertz
A little tree along Route 322 East between Millerstown and Newport stands tall like a beacon in the night for weary drivers.
From October to April, the miniature tree sends a message of caring and kindness in an uncertain world to all who drive by as it sits alone atop an embankment near the Juniata River. Drivers flying by might wonder how this tree, in the middle of nowhere, is lit up, as there seem to be no buildings in sight along the busy highway.
Unseen to drivers, Steve and Patty Wertz live at the bottom of that hill in a house they had built in 1997. Both had commuted for many years to the Harrisburg area for work, and Steve, a truck driver, was inspired after seeing a tree stay lit far past the Christmas season off Route 83 outside of York one year.
After the lights went out, he realized how much it had brightened his lonely nighttime drives. He noticed how dark and dreary the stretch of highway above his property was and, in 2015, decided to do for others what that tree had done for him.
The first tree grew too large, so the couple planted another, smaller tree after Patty had suggested putting lights on a bigger tree. Steve responded, “No, just a little light.”
“The simplicity is the beauty of it all,” he said.
That’s how it has stayed—one 3½-foot-tall tree with a long strand of multi-colored lights and a very long, 10-gauge, heavy-duty grade extension cord that winds its way down the hill to their back porch.
At one point, Steve asked someone at Harbor Freight for the right extension cord to withstand the weather and the long season. The employee responded, “I know where you live. I’ve seen that tree.”
Odes to a Tree
Over the years, the tree has attracted quite a following.
Some travelers pinpointed the location on Google Maps, using the power line next door to figure out an address, and sent Christmas greetings and thanks to the Wertzes. Others stopped along the side of the road leaving cards, decorations on the tree, placards, gift cards and money as thanks.
One enthusiastic fan sent a Philadelphia Eagles holiday card with no name, but with this message inside: “Thank you so much for the cheerful lighted tree along 322. I travel past it twice a week, and it always puts a smile on my face! Sometimes the littlest things bring the most joy!”
The most personal and special memento was a poem left every year by a middle school teacher commuting each morning from Thompsontown to Susquenita.
Towards the end of each winter, she would stop on the way to work, climb the snow-covered bank, and place her anonymous poem, printed on yellow paper and wrapped in a plastic bag inside a small holiday tin, near the tree as a thank you to the equally anonymous people who had taken the time to add colorful light to her daily journey. Patty Wertz framed the first poem and puts all subsequent ones behind it in the frame.
This language arts teacher—who said she had never written poetry before the tree inspired her—knew she planned to retire at the end of the 2024 school year. So, she pulled all nine of the poems she had written together into a tiny book that she self-published as “Christmas Tree Poems” and left the book at the base of the tree, along with a link to her website identifying herself as Deb Richmond.
Patty Wertz reached out to Richmond through her website, writing, “Your poems were the highlight of our Holiday Season, especially now with all the things happening in the world. It was so nice getting a little piece of joy to end the year.”
Since then, the two have become kindred spirits who meet regularly.
“I lost a little illuminated friend last winter,” Richmond writes about the Christmas tree she will no longer pass as regularly, in a newsletter aimed at older readers on nostalgic topics that she sends to subscribers. “I found something much better—a friend who talks to me, listens to me, and laughs with me. It was a good trade.”
Winter Glow
By Deb Richmond
[Her first poem to the Christmas tree (2016)]
My morning’s road is dark and grey
With muted beams to light the way
But on the rise before the town
A tree of color stands alone
Christmas glows refresh my eyes
A break from toneless empty skies
As winter thaws
And mornings brighten
The tree grows small and colors fade
But when January’s bitter coldness heightened
The tree was there to bless my days
Thanks to the giver of small light
Praise to the Maker of all light
For more information on Deb Richmond’s newsletters and her other work, visit www.debrichmond.com.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
