Courtesy Photo Sharon Wyman’s barn is seen at her farm, Pleasant View Ranch, in Maple Ridge Township. Her and her late husband had a weather vane installed, which they received as a Christmas gift, on the roof.

ALPENA — Sharon Wyman, an Alpena resident and owner of Pleasant View Ranch in Maple Ridge Township, keeps her late husband’s memory alive with a “favorite farm family story” that is connected to a unique Christmas gift.

Sharon Wyman’s husband, Tom Wyman, passed away in 2011 but she has kept a weather vane the couple received from her parents as a Christmas gift in 1998, on top of their red barn ever since.

“It’s the most amazing Christmas ‘farm’ gift we ever received,” Sharon Wyman said.

She explained that the year they received the gift there wasn’t much snow on the ground.

“It was an exceptionally warm Christmas Day, so my husband Tom decided to scale the barn and install it that very day,” she said.

Sharon Wyman explained that her husband took out their International 886 loader tractor and raised it up to the highest point.

“He still needed two bricks to level the ladder in the bucket,” Sharon Wyman said. “In hindsight, it was quite a difficult and challenging task. I think we both didn’t think of the consequences a fall could have had.”

She said that both her parents have both passed but the weather van continues to be the “greatest Christmas gift” and has become a family favorite story.

“Since my husband has passed I can still visualize him scaling that massive red barn on Christmas Day,” Sharon Wyman stated. “It’s a treasured remembrance.”

She explained that the year after her husband passed she had the roof of the barn replaced in honor of him since they had frequently talked about doing that at some point in the future. She said that she had Meridian Contracting Services of Alpena do the work, though she made it a point that the weather vane must be returned to its place once the project was complete.

“The one thing I was adamant about is the weather vane has to be reinstalled,” Sharon Wyman said.

She added that the weather vane has weathered over the years and has turned green, though she believes the age enhances the gift.

“You learn to cherish things as you get older,” Sharon Wyman said. “Memories are special because they don’t break, they don’t get old.”

She said that over the years her husband’s passing has always been felt despite the years gone, but her weather vane and the memories attached are “a bright light in the situation.”

“I have a family so we can relive those memories, but there is always a void,” Sharon Wyman said. “Everybody is gone who was there when that weather vane was put up there. We hope the story lives on in the family.

“All I have to do is look out from my window and I can see our gift spinning in the wind or glistening in the sunlight … it even survived the ice storm,” she added.

In 2016 Sharon Wyman received a Barn of the Year Award from the Michigan Barn Preservation Network. She said that she traveled all the way to Grand Rapids to accept the award and gave a speech about the barn’s significance and its connection to her late husband.

This Christmas marks 27 years since her and her husband received their “farm gift” and she said that it has aged gracefully.

Kayla Wikaryasz can be reached at 989-358-5688 or kwikaryasz@TheAlpenaNews.com.