Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Betsy P. Ramsbotham
For the Clemmons Courier

The 2020 pandemic has altered, postponed and canceled plans since March.

People have grappled with how to maintain some normalcy during graduations, holidays and other family gatherings.

After Thanksgiving, the Reising family of Clemmons decided it was time to make a long-held Christmas wish come true since it could add extra joy to these abnormal times. They would decorate a 64-foot tall cedar tree on their property to provide a source of cheer in their community.

Pam Reising said that she and her husband Andrew and sons Max and Bradley had talked about doing it since moving to their home at 6923 Harpervalley Lane 11 years ago.

“With the gloom so many people are feeling these days, we decided the time was right,” said Reising.

“My husband works in the environmental field and was working in Orlando, Florida, several months ago. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and concerns, I stayed home instead of traveling there to see him. Making plans for the tree helped lift my spirits,” she said.

Neighbors are enjoying the tree along with passersby on Peace Haven Road, where the sight of a huge, brightly lit tree is an unexpected pleasure.

Spectators often ask how all those lights were placed so high up on the tree.

Andrew Reising has a business contact, Bud Lambert, at Carolina Cat in Greensboro who supplied a cherry picker that allowed the 4,000 lights to be installed from the top down.

“Our son Bradley has a real eye for how things should look. He is like our family photographer and advised us on placement of lights and also the decorations at the base of the tree such as deer,” said Pam Reising.

“Son Max was home at Thanksgiving from Western Carolina University, so he was able to help, too,” she said.

Tree decorators don’t typically have 4,000 lights at their disposal. Andrew Reising ordered such a large number of lights from an online store.

“We had wanted to use old-fashioned style bulbs, but we went with modern LED lights which have that extra brightness,” said Pam Reising.

The Reisings invite anyone who would like to see something different and who could use a little extra Christmas cheer to come view their tree. It is lit each night from dusk until 9:30-10 p.m.