Prescott Boys light up campground with Christmas tree

Dave Sandum (left) and partner Tim Dejong have shared many good times at their campsite in Cornell, at Brunet Island State Park, punctuated by decorating the small tree growing near where the camper is parked, every fall. The two purchased the decorations for the tree, festoon it with the cheery light strings and ornaments, then head home to Prescott, relying on park staff to undecorate the tree and store the festive garlands until the next fall. Submitted Photo

By Ginna Young

Each fall, locals look for the one thing that sheds light on the electric campground at Brunet Island State Park in Cornell. Growing by Site 23, near the road that runs in front of the campground, is a fir tree, decorated lovingly by long-time park visitors, Tim Dejong and Dave Sandum, of Prescott.

“A lot of people call us the Prescott Boys,” said Tim. After a friend turned them onto the beauty and peace of Cornell’s state park, the couple has spent almost 30 years coming to the same site.

“We don’t go anywhere else,” said Tim. Annually, the Prescott visitors come a couple times during the summer, then usually stay for a long time during the fall. During that time, they decorate the tree near their camper and plug in the light strings, illuminating the tree so much, it can actually be spotted from across the Chippewa River at night.

“It was just always kind of a fantasy to put a Christmas tree up here,” said Tim, adding that when he and Dave finally got up the nerve to do so, they talked to the park office and got the OK. “It’s been a tradition now for six or seven years.”

The couple purchased the decorations, which stay up until after the new year, then are taken down by park staff and stored until the Prescott Boys return the following fall.

“It’s our park Christmas tree,” said park manager Zach Thon.

The unusual sight gets the Prescott Boys a lot of visitors, who all want to know the story behind the decorated tree and ask if they can take a photo, posing by the evergreen. In fact, the tree is so popular, that even after Tim and Dave return to their Prescott home, people continually take photos by the tree.

In a few years, Tim and Dave plan to move to Arizona permanently, leaving their little tree behind. It’s their hope that others will continue the legacy they’ve left behind, to bring some brightness into the world.

“We’re gonna miss not being in this park,” said Tim. “I’m hoping he’ll (Thon) send us pictures of the tree instead. I kind of hope the tradition stays there.”

[caption id="attachment_203840" align="alignnone" width="200"] Such an unusual sight as a decorated Christmas tree in a campground, gets a lot of onlookers, who want a photo for themselves to remember. Throughout the fall and into mid-winter, many stop to snap a photo, before the tree is undecorated. Photo by Ginna Young[/caption] [caption id="attachment_203839" align="alignnone" width="203"] The lights on the growing tree are so bright, that it can be seen from the campground at night, across the Chippewa River. If the tree isn’t plugged in when locals think it should be, they investigate to see if a bulb is out on the string.[/caption]