By GABRIELLE SHIOZAWA
Moapa Valley Progress
When Brenda Lee first sang “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” she wasn’t talking about a little neighborhood in Logandale, Nevada. But she might as well have been. For there are few, if any, other places where they “Let the Christmas spirit ring” as magnificently as the residents of one little neighborhood in Logandale.
It’s early in the morning on the first Saturday of December. Friends and neighbors are gathered on the corner of Berkley Street and Janet Circle, where an enormous pine tree has been set up. This traditional holiday observance has gone on in this neighborhood at the beginning of every December for the past 25 years.
It was in 1992 when neighborhood resident Albert Smith first chopped down a pine tree and brought it to Larry Moses’ front yard. Smith and Moses invited all of their neighbors to join them in decorating it as they rang in the holiday season. The event has continued every year since then, bringing more and more people each time.
“I invite all the neighbors to bring their families back,” commented Smith. “The children that grew up doing it are still bringing their children. It’s been a very traditional and good thing.”
Jessica Soderquist grew up in the neighborhood and has fond memories of the tradition. “I was one who was here when it started,” she said. “Now I bring my son to it. It’s an awesome tradition.”
Soderquist added that they usually keep the tree up until March. “As long as it will stay up, we’ll keep it up,” she said. “Every time we come through the neighborhood, we check to see if the tree is still there.”
“When we moved in here, there were more than 50 kids in the neighborhood,” said Smith. “We used to do all kinds of things: Fourth of July parades, Halloween parties. This is one of the things we’ve kept going over the generations.”
In past years, members of the neighborhood have even brought down a truckload of snow to play in for the decorating event. These days, families sip hot chocolate and eat glazed donuts while they decorate the tree.
“I think the neighborhood tree is a neat tradition that brings us all together,” said 18 year old Emma Thompson. “It’s a good reminder of what being part of a neighborhood really should look like.”
Thompson added that she is excited to share this tradition with future generations of her family. “I look forward to starting the Christmas season celebrating with family and friends, year after year,” she said.
Surely, this tradition will continue, with everyone decoratin’ merrily “in the new old-fashioned way!”
