In front of a crowd of around 50 people, the city of Presque Isle lit a Christmas tree at City Hall Friday, possibly for the first time ever.
The lighting was made possible by the donation of a 20-foot spruce tree by Presque Isle resident Khasen Lowe, which the city installed on the front lawn of its municipal building.
City Manager Sonja Eyler said she would like to make the event an annual tradition.
“It’s special, not everybody can get a tree,” Eyler said. “This is a tree that belongs to everybody and it brings the community together.”
Other places in Presque Isle, including Northern Light AR Gould Hospital, hold annual tree lightings, but Eyler said she did not know of any that were previously hosted by the city.
The event was a collaborative effort between the Presque Isle Fire Department — which strung the lights around the three — and the city’s historical society, library and City Hall.
Prior to the tree lighting, Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus visited with children inside the City Hall.
After the lights turned on, many of the community members who braved single-digit temperatures to get in the holiday spirit hopped on Molly the Trolley — the historical society’s 1985 gas-powered trolley — for a trip to Mark and Emily Turner Memorial Library for story time with Mrs. Claus.
