For nearly seven decades during Christmastime, the tree in the yard of his Werth Road home has been a pleasant sight for passersby on their way into work or on their drive home in the evening.

With more than 2,000 bulbs shining brightly, the tree is easy to spot, and, for many Alpena-area residents, it’s a familiar part of the holiday season.

“When we do it, why then people beep the horn, we get Christmas cards, we get telephone calls from people that thank us for it. As long as people appreciate we like to do it, it’s a community thing,” Diamond said. “We enjoy it too, it’s a family thing.”

Every year, Diamond and members of his family gather on a weekend afternoon in December to decorate the tree. Decorating takes several hours, but it’s an activity that family members look forward to. It’s a tradition that’s spanned multiple generations and there are plenty of smiles and laughs as the tree takes on its familiar Christmas look during decorating.

News Photo by James Andersen Mark Diamond’s tree stands bare before being decorated on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s a great tradition of family. It’s a day we look forward to all year long, to get together and do a project like this,” Diamond’s son John said. “It’s just a lot of fun to get together around Christmastime.”

The tree, which measures between 15 and 16 feet tall, is actually a clump of cedar trees that grew together. Once it grew too big, a neighbor cut it back and trimmed it into its current cone shape. These days, Diamond’s son Paul gives the tree its annual haircut. The trimming helps create branches on which some lower strands of lights hang.

The decorating process is meticulous, but Diamond and his family have gotten it down to a science. As they’ve added lights – many of which were donated by members of the community – they’ve perfected different aspects of decorating to make things easier and safer.

Before anything goes on the tree, several dozen strands of lights are strung out in the yard so they can later be hung up. Six totes hold the upper half – 1,200 bulbs in all – of the tree’s lights and another six totes hold the bottom half – another 1,200 bulbs.

Once the lights are strung out, the decorating starts at the top, where John climbs a ladder to hook a piece of pipe outfitted with a circular apparatus and two dozen hooks. On each of the hooks goes a strand of lights, which are raised up to John with an extender pole.

News Photo by James Andersen Ann Diamond strings a strand of Christmas lights during the decorating process on Sunday.

There are two dozen strands of lights that hang vertically from each of the hooks at the top and another two dozen stands which help cover the lower half of the tree. Each of the lower strands goes about halfway up and helps give the tree more light at its wide bottom.

In all, decorating takes about three to four hours and when everything is plugged in, 2,400 bulbs will shine brightly. Snowfall during the winter months makes the tree even more visually appealing.

“(It) started out with a cedar tree about (waist high) and a string of bulbs,” Mark said. “As the tree grew, it got to a point where we knew how many bulbs we could put on.”

Having that many bulbs requires a lot of checking to make sure they all work. Once lights are taken down after the New Year, Diamond spends time checking every strand and putting them away. Checking them in January ensures there are very few if any issues when it comes time to decorate in December.

Diamond and his family enjoy their annual tradition, but they’re very happy that the community enjoys their annual holiday tradition as well.

News Photo by James Andersen Lights are shown hanging from the Diamond family Christmas tree on Sunday. The tree, once fully decorated, features 2,400 bulbs. Over the years, many community members have donated lights to help in decorating.

“A lot of people enjoy it. A lot of people ask, when are you going to putting it up. It’s great to know that other people enjoy it,” John said. “It’s a fun project, but it’s great to know that other people enjoy it.”

News Photo by James Andersen John Diamond decorates the lower half of the Diamond family Christmas tree on Sunday. After hanging two dozen strands of lights from the top, more strands are hung from the lower half of the tree to help fill in the bottom.

News Photo by James Andersen John Diamond strings lights on the top of the Diamond family tree on Werth Road on Sunday. The top of the tree has a circular apparatus from which two dozen strands of lights hang down vertically.

News Photo by James Andersen John Diamond, top, and Paul Diamond decorate the family Christmas tree on Sunday. Each strand for the top part of the tree is lifted up on an extender pole and then hooked on to a hook at the top of the tree.

News Photo by James Andersen After being decorated with more than two dozen strands of lights and 2,400 bulbs, the Christmas tree in the front yard of Mark Diamond’s Werth Road property lights up the sky on Sunday night. The decoration of the tree, which goes back almost seven decades catches the eye of many passersby during the holiday season and is a fun tradition for the Diamond family.