The holidays are all about the spirit of giving and a Gratiot county pub owner is celebrating in his own way… by giving away Christmas trees.
Charles Chapman been giving away Christmas trees in front of his pub in Alma for four years. He said he started with 20 trees and has been progressively increasing the number. This year he’ll give out around 50.
Chapman said he loves the impact his trees have on the community.
“Most of the people usually stop in and say, ‘thank you’ or ‘hey can you help me load it?’ I’m out there most of the time anyway, just if they need help, I’m there,” he said. “I just wanna meet people who are grabbing them. To see the impact that it does have on them because they’re usually smiling and very grateful.”
Chapman said community members pitch in by donating tree stands, lights and decorations. So he can focus on giving away more trees.
“I’ve always tried to give back to the community. They treat me with respect and I treat them back with respect back,” he said. “Everybody loves it and I love the Christmas time. I do as much as I can.”
Chapman has been doing it for the past four years and said he plans to continue his tradition next year.