Nearly 100 people showed up to Sunday's sixth annual Jack's Memory Tree, featuring a super-sized tree at a new location.
The event remembers the late Jack Steppleman, known as Mr. Christmas in Jefferson City, and is a way for area residents to remember their loved ones by hanging ornaments, photos and other keepsakes on two memory boards at Hawthorn Memorial Gardens.
Chris and Debbie Groose, of Eugene, were among the attendees. Debbie hung a bell in memory of her late mother, Betty, and Chris hung deer antlers to remember his father, Walter.
"I was really impressed by everything," Chris Groose said after the ceremony. "We'll be here next year. I'll be here every year if I can."
The event, organized by Houser-Millard Chapels, was previously held at the funeral home on West Main Street and featured a 30-foot tree. This year, the tree is about 70 feet tall, composed of some 76,000 lights and includes a 10-foot blue star at the top.
Throughout the holiday season, people are invited to come by the cemetery and place a special ornament or picture in honor of a loved one on one of the two memory boards installed at the front of the cemetery. The Christmas tree will be lit in the evenings.
"We're trying to make this a place you feel comfortable coming out to," said Reid Millard, of Houser-Millard Chapels.
Sunday's event also featured a prayer service, speakers, Santa Claus and live music.
The event started as a way to remember Steppleman, a longtime downtown business owner who decorated his store-front windows during the Christmas season. He retired in the early '90s, but then became known for his extravagant Christmas decorations outside his house.
For many families, it was a tradition to drive their cars by his house, sometimes waiting in long lines, to see his lights and decorations, which included a miniature snow village that filled his garage. Steppleman often would greet passers-by.
He hired people to help him with the decorations, and the process often started shortly after the Fourth of July.
At the event, attendees could pose for photos with a 10-foot cutout photo of Steppleman.