'Maverick's tree' moves to downtown

SANDUSKY — A 30-foot blue spruce has a special history. The tree was only a couple feet tall when it was planted at Tom and Cindy Patterson's Anderson Street home for their oldest grandson, Maverick Ohlemacher. Maverick was one and a half years old at the time. Fast forward 18 years, and the tree outgrew the space. "The branches were growing over our driveway and getting into the neighbor's yard," Tom said. Tom and Cindy have lived at the home for 47 years. During a conversation with city commissioner Dave Waddington, Tom brought up the overgrown tree. Turns out, the city was in need of a tree for the holiday season, so a crew was sent over to study it. They determined it would be a good Christmas tree for downtown Sandusky. The tree was removed from the Patterson's property and moved to Schade-Mylander Plaza on Friday. The story In December of 2004, their daughter, Becky, called them and asked if they could buy her son, Maverick, a Christmas tree. "She was expecting at the time, working full time as a preschool special needs teacher and had not been able to go out and get one," Cindy said. Cut trees have always been a tradition for their family. "For some reason, my husband said he would get one but it had to be one we could plant after Christmas," Cindy said. They bought a beautiful, little spruce. It was about the same size as young Maverick. Ever since they planted the tree, it's been known as "Maverick's tree." The family took pictures the day it was planted and tried to take one every year in front of the tree. The Pattersons remember decorating the tree with lights in Maverick's favorite colors at the time, blue and white. But then the tree grew too big and it was difficult to put the lights on it. "The tree and Maverick both grew and grew," Cindy said. Now, the tree is 30-feet tall while Maverick stands at 6-foot, 3-inches. Maverick, who is currently a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati majoring in criminal justice, returned to Sandusky to watch the tree move downtown. "It's not every day that they tell you the tree that's been around your whole life is going to be in the middle of Sandusky," Maverick said. Is it Christmastime? On a day with temperatures in the 70s, a crew from the city's forestry department and Barnes Nursery worked to relocate the tree. Usually when it's time to put up the Christmas tree in downtown, the weather is much colder. There were times when there's even been snow. But on Friday, the sun was shining bright and the air felt warmer as the day continued. It was a bittersweet day for Maverick and his family. While he's sad to see the tree leave its home, he's glad other people will be able to admire it. "Now everyone can enjoy it and not just our family," Maverick said. Tom also doesn't have to worry about the tree's stability. He said when there were strong winds, he would notice the ground around it moving. Now the tree is secured and standing tall at Schade-Mylander Plaza. The tree weighs more than 1,600 pounds. "I was really impressed by the city workers and Barnes," Cindy said. Added Tom: "They did a fantastic job." The family plans to take more photos with the tree once it's decorated. "I'll be even more excited when there's snow everywhere and all the lights are on," Maverick said. After the tree was put in place at the plaza, the family headed back home to plant two young dogwood trees to fill the void of the spruce. Meanwhile, Cindy picked up the pinecones left behind from the tree. Many years ago she made pinecone wreaths. She plans to make one final wreath with the remaining pinecones.