O Christmas Tree: Blinking merrily on high

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Jeanene and Maynard Townswick

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WORTHINGTON — Each year, Maynard Townswick’s Christmas decorating job gets a bit tougher. That’s because what he is decorating gets taller.

Maynard spends a couple days decorating the trees in the front of the home he shares with wife Jeanene, much to her delight.

“We have lived in Worthington since 1976,” explained Jeanene. “When we moved to this site, there were no trees. I have been told prior to Johnson’s (Builders) building our home, the land was farmland.”

But then Maynard bought a pine tree on a youth fundraising auction at American Lutheran Church and dug a hole for it in their front yard.

“When I planted that tree, it was three feet tall or less,” Maynard recalled. “My son used to run and hurdle over it.”

Now, that tree is at least 10 times that size,

“I would guess that it’s 30, 35 feet,” Maynard estimated. “I can reach about 20 feet up to get the lights up, and it’s got 10 feet or better that I can’t reach anymore.”

In order to cover 20 feet of the tree with about five strings of lights, he rigged up a special device, which he also utilizes to trim a crab apple and arborvitae.

“I have a 15- or 16-foot cane pole, fishing pole, and I taped a hook on it,” he explained. “I catch the lights on there, and for the big evergreen, I climb on a six-foot stepladder and can reach a little higher with it.”

Maynard plans to continue his decorating as long as he can, and his dedication to the effort is appreciated by his entire family.

“All the credit goes to Maynard, who has always made our home beautiful for me and our family,” said Jeanene. “Christmas time is very special to us. We’ve grown from a family of six to 18 who always want to come home” for Christmas.”

Tags: christmas trees, lifestyle, people, townsend