Culture & Entertainment Notebook: Lutheran Heritage Center Christmas trees 'a real thing of love'

More than 35 Christmas trees adorn Lutheran Heritage Center & Museum in Altenburg, Missouri, just in time for the holidays.

For 14 years, the location has displayed the ever-growing collection of trees, ranging from newest to oldest and tallest to shortest, according to Carla Jordan, Lutheran Heritage Center director.

Jordan labeled the display as "a real thing of love."

President of the Perry County Historical Society Warren Schmidt explained the trees on display are important to the history and citizens of Perry County, Missouri.

In the lobby, one tree is in each corner, representing a different part of the Nativity: "Happy Birthday Jesus Tree," "Everlasting Life Tree," "Oh, Holy Night Tree" and "Wisemen and Wisewomen Still Seek Him."

Christmas trees on display at Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum of the Perry County Lutheran Historical Society in Altenburg, Missouri.KASSI JACKSON

Located in the museum's "Big School Gallery" stands a German feather tree Schmidt estimated to be more than 100 years old.

"It really is one of the first examples of an artificial tree," he said of the "fenced-in" goose feathered tree donated by Holly Freund and decorated by Dorothy Weinhold.

According to Jordan, many of the trees from around that time also had decorations underneath, in place of today's tree skirts.

"These fences are a very German thing to have under trees," Jordan said. "A lot of times, the beneath of the tree is decorated just as much as the tree."

The museum's Almanac-Gardening tree was donated by Ken Craft. It displays a collection of early to mid-1800's Almanacs from the Deutsch Pennsylvania area and other regions of early America.

Close by is the "Immigration Tree," ornamented with blue, paper, nautical stars displaying the names of East Perry County immigrants, according to the museum.

Schmidt said it was inspired by a huge immigration society in 1839 that was formed and traveled to Perry County.

"There originally were 700 people that came here," he said. "This tree is up every year."

And each year, Schmidt said he has to see where the Schmidt family is located on the tree.

The "Christmas Spider Tree" sits in the corner of the Big School Gallery and is an interesting shrub, set apart by the decorations provided by the students of The United Christ Lutheran School in Frohna, Missouri.

"My wife happens to be the one who goes over there and gets the idea for the tree. We're both retired teachers," he said. "We found out about this legend of spiders that come and decorate a tree that is forlorn and abandoned by a woman who couldn't afford decorations."

Within the museum's main gallery are the rest of the trees, including the "Cooper Friendship Tree," "Pioneer America Tree," "Ancestor Tree," "Let It Go Tree," Santa-themed trees and the "From Cellar to Stein" tree in the reading room.

The Pioneer America tree is the only real tree part of the display and was provided by Dorothy Weinhold. It contains pieces that would've been available in nature and around the cabin in 1839.

Down the hallway is a tree displaying unnamed photographs of early settler to the region.

"I get a kick out of looking at this, because I know one of the kids in that picture is one of our docents here at the museum," Schmidt said. "She's in that photo as a kid. It's on that tree every year."

Within the back portion of the main gallery are three individually decked Santa Claus-themed trees -- one with a large Santa head as the topper.

Somewhat hidden in the museum's reading room is a tree decorated with steins and beer cans -- "From Cellar to Stein" -- proudly overlooking the research tables.

"There's only one tree in here. It's our beer tree. We call this our man cave," Schmidt said of how he and his fellow volunteer see the space.

Schmidt said the tree is part of the local culture.

"We've had this beer tree for a couple years," he said. "One year it was in the men's bathroom ... It hasn't always been well received. It's more of a guy tree."

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All together

The cast of "Parks and Recreation" at the Peabody Awards in 2012.Anders Krusberg ~ Peabody Awards

NBC reported Wednesday the cast of local-government comedy "Parks and Recreation" will meet with co-creator Mike Schur at the upcoming 36th annual PaleyFest LA. The event will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the show's launch.

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