A Magical Rural Minnesota Christmas Tree Decked Out with 50,000 Lights

Jerry Lageson bought a piece of property along Interstate 35 south of Faribault, Minn. in 1976.  The next year he built a house.  There was a small oak tree between the house and the road.

"And we debated whether to get rid of it or keep it and we decided it had a nice shape to it and we decided to keep it and it turned into something really, really special," Lageson told American Countryside's Andrew McCrea. 

Over the years the tree grew. It was pretty, but not much different than other trees you might see in someone’s yard.  But in 2011 he saw a tree similar to his adorned with some beautiful white lights in the Twin Cities.  He thought his tree was better looking than that one and that led him to try his hand at it.

"There’s 50,000 lights," he adds. There are 500 hundred strands."

And when Jerry flipped the switch back in 2012, this became much more than just an oak tree in his front yard – it became a beautiful landmark for the thousands passing by.  Jerry rents a 50 foot lift each year to allow him to get around all parts of the tree, replacing bulbs and adding lights where needed.

"You’ve got to wrap them around the limbs and then you’ve got to take zip ties and if the wind blows there not going to come off of that branch," adds Lageson. 

He used to just run extension cords from his house to power it, now he’s got permanent underground electricity running directly to his tree.  But when Jerry began his adventure back in 2012 he was just lighting a tree for the Christmas season.  He had no idea the impact it would have on those that passed by on the interstate.

"A lot of these truck drivers have been on the road for maybe six, eight hours and then they go by this tree and it give them a little lift and they honk their horn and stuff," says Lageson.    

Jerry didn’t set out to be a celebrity, although these days his fame has grown as the man who lights the beautiful tree along the interstate each season.  There’s just something about the brilliant limbs set against the dark night along this highway.

"Then they go by the tree and it kind of lifts them up – lifts their spirits up, they feel better.  And it’s my tree and I know I feel better driving by and looking at it," he shares. 

He’s received letters over the years – people speaking of personal challenges or health problems they are facing – they pass the tree on their way to and from hospitals, nursing homes and family.  Whatever the case, they write Jerry and speak of the feeling they get from passing that tree. 

"It does make me feel good.  It makes me feel like I bring a lot of joy to a lot of people.  And I’m not personally involved with the people but my tree, but my tree touches them – touches them right in their heart," Lageson says. 

Every holiday season thousands of people drive past this tree and whether they are seeing it for the first time or many times each finds their own piece of joy from the 50,000 lights Jerry puts out each year.