Joliet’s city Christmas tree comes courtesy of Plainfield family

Joliet — The holiday season has officially begun for the city of Joliet, as a city crew picked up its official Christmas tree from a Plainfield family Thursday.

Joliet city arborist Jim Teiber, Joliet police officers and a crew from Homer Tree Care were on hand at the home of Amy and Dennis Carter on Illini Drive to cut down the 40-foot Colorado Spruce, which will serve as the city’s central holiday decoration this year.

“We had the house built in 2001, and the tree has been here since the beginning,” Amy said. “It’s a beautiful tree, but it’s right on the property line, and it’s gotten very big.

“So we wanted to be good neighbors, but we hated the thought of just chopping it down without any real purpose. So we decided to donate it.”

Dennis said the tree was only about 8 feet tall when they planted it at the corner of their house, and it has grown alongside their daughters, Catherine, Jane and Emma.

“We’ve enjoyed it since we put it in,” he said. “We have family photos in front of it from every holiday, first day of school and school dance from the time the kids were babies. We’re really happy it’s going somewhere others can enjoy it too.”

Emma, 21, was the only one of the family’s three daughters on hand to say farewell to the tree Thursday.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and that tree has always been here,” she said. “It’s going to be sad without it, but it’s nice to know it’s going to something better.”

“My dad was a builder, and he built the house for us,” Amy said. “His company logo was three evergreen trees, so that’s why we planted it. It’s sad that it’s going, but it’s a good sad. The neighbors have been great about it, but it needed to go.”

The Carters have not decided what they will put in the spruce’s place, but Dennis said they would ask the Homer Tree Care team for advice.

“They’ve been great to deal with. Maybe we’ll ask for suggestions and see them again in another 20 years,” he joked.

The Carters have been planning to donate the tree for a year. They approached both Chicago and Plainfield about donating it in 2022 but were turned down. That’s when neighbors Kathie and Frank Costa suggested talking to the city of Joliet.

“We’re friends with [Mayor] Terry D’Arcy,” Kathie said. “I called and asked if they wanted the tree for Joliet last year. They already had one, but he had the city get in touch with them about saving it for this year.

“They had to donate it. It’s such a beautiful tree. We’ll hate to see it go.”

This marks the second year in a row a Plainfield family has donated a tree for Joliet’s official Christmas tree.

Using a crane, Homer Tree Care secured the 3,700-pound tree and hoisted it into the air and across the street to a waiting truck, after a ground crew cleared the lower branches and severed the trunk. Although setting up and securing the tree took more than an hour from start to finish, the actual removal of the massive plant took only a matter of minutes.

“Every year you wonder if something is going to happen or go wrong, but it’s been very smooth,” Teiber said. “It takes a bit of work to get the contractors and move it, but it’s worth it to have a nice tree like this donated. It’s a beautiful thing.”

After being secured to the truck, the tree made a slow journey from Plainfield to VanBuren Square in downtown Joliet, where it will be mounted and decorated in time for the city’s tree-lighting ceremony Friday, Nov. 25.

As part of the annual Light Up the Holidays celebration, the tree officially will be lit at 5:15 p.m. to kick off the Chicago Street Christmas parade and following a day of festivities including ice skating, horse-drawn carriage rides and a Christmas market.