Those walking in or near Riverview Cemetery may notice a glow of different lights not normally at a cemetery. Tucked away in the cemetery, the colorful Tree of Light stands tall as a beacon during the holidays.
Riverview Cemetery Manager Tim Theroff said the tree has about 6,500 lights and is intended to cheer up families when they visit the cemetery at 2600 W. Main St.
"We want it to kind of be a bright spot for people who come into the cemetery to visit and remember their loved ones over the holidays," he said. "We were trying to think of something to do for people who come in during the holidays, knowing that sometimes that's a hard time for families, and we just thought that might be a bright spot for them."
The tree will stay in the cemetery during the holidays, and the lights will come down after New Year's Eve.
The Tree of Light is separate from the Memory Tree slightly down the road at the Houser-Millard funeral home, 2313 West Main St. The lighting for that tree will be at 6 p.m. Dec. 3.
The 30-foot Memory Tree, first erected in December 2015, honors Jack Steppelman, also known as "Mr. Christmas." Steppelman died a few days after Christmas in 2014.
For more than 60 years, Steppelman decorated his Leslie Boulevard residence, and cars would drive by to see the display. Steppelman was also a well-known downtown retailer before he retired.