A family has been making Christmas brighter with a heartfelt tradition, which manifests this time of year in the park along Riverside Drive.
inSide Drumheller published a photo on December 19, 2014 of a family taking a photo in front of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. Not knowing who beautifully decorated the tree, the paper referred to it as a “Christmas Mystery.”
This December The Mail received correspondence from Brett and Terra Adams exclaiming, “We didn’t know we were a mystery!”
Terra explains her family has decorated the tree for the last five years.
It began in 2009 when her sister-in-law Sandra looked out of her parent’s window at Christmas and suggested they decorate one of the evergreens in the park.
“A nice idea but we thought we would have trouble getting permission to do it so let the discussion go,” she said.
Sadly, less than a year later in October of 2010, the family lost Sandra to brain cancer.
When Christmas came around, they did not forget her suggestion a year before and asked the Town of Drumheller if they could decorate the tree. They received the permission, and since then the tree is brightly decorated, visible from the window from Sandra’s parents Don and Linda Adams' home.
“It was our tree of remembrance, our own small tribute to those who were in our hearts,” she said.
A few years later, the tree also became their tree of hope. Terra explains her brother-in-law Trevor was diagnosed with Leukemia. He lost his battle in April 2014.
This fall the family had three trees planted in the park, and last week the family was out to begin decorating.
“Over the last 5 years we have encouraged others we know to hang a decoration for their own loved ones. Some years the elements are hard on the decorations, but if it’s there when we take them down, it goes up the year after,” said Terra. “Over the last year, we have been privileged with gratitude for decorating the tree, and with that we thought we would share our story.”
