Mystery Christmas tree sprouts on side of highway in Texas, and locals want to save it from construction: 'Leave the tree ... build around it'
A mysterious Christmas tree has sprouted in the town of Prosper, Texas.
Drivers have noticed a decorated tree looming on the side of the highway in the small town, and they’re wondering who’s responsible for it. It’s the only tree in sight — in fact, it’s the only thing in sight aside from some shrubs, as the entire area has been recently bulldozed. The land is allegedly being used for a mall expansion.
But for now, the attraction on this land is a big tree adorned with garland and ornaments.
The tree became a hot topic last week when a Facebook page dedicated to the town posted about it, hoping to figure out who decorated it. “A couple of weeks ago a follower asked us on private message about it,” an administrator for the page Prosper Speaks told Yahoo Lifestyle. “Being longtime residents and ‘against change’ kind of people, we started trying to find out the story secretly from longer-time residents and City Council friends.” They didn’t get far. “So we put it on our page asking anyone if they knew. That’s when it took off.”
Random acts of Christmas have hit this town before. “As far as we know there have been various trees decorated since the 1990s — some closer to First Street, some downtown,” the Prosper Speaks administrator said.
But they still can’t pinpoint the Prosper resident responsible for it. “We have lived here for many, many years and tried reaching out to older residents, City Council, etc.” the Prosper Speaks rep said. “One follower said they saw people decorating during the day this time, although in the past it was done in the dark of night.” They’ve heard that family members who lost a loved one in an accident nearby could be responsible for the decorations. But the most plausible explanation so far is that it’s the handiwork of a church youth group.
While the Christmas tree appears every year, it’s getting more attention this year as it’s the last one standing in that area. “So many of our beautiful wild Christmas-type trees have been destroyed due to expansion, and this particular tree was spared by the bulldozer just last week,” Prosper Speaks said. When it was first noticed last week, it was surrounded by similar trees. This week, it’s the only one left. “You can imagine this has stirred a lot of empathy toward this particular tree that has come to represent ‘old Prosper’ versus ‘new Prosper,’” the page owner explained. “There have been concerns that they will bulldoze it after Christmas and talks of petitions and Facebook ‘Save the P-Tree’ campaigns.”
A Prosper Speaks follower, Daniel Rojo, who says he works on the construction site claims the tree is safe for now. “I’m the [foreman] on-site, and the plan is to leave it as long as we can,” Rojo wrote on Prosper Speaks.
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