Pacific’s 70-year Christmas tradition began as a prank

Right before Thanksgiving, members of the local Lions Club raised 14 lines of lights to create a Christmas tree on the top of the bluff on Blackburn Park, next to Route 66 in Pacific, Missouri.

It’s been a tradition in Pacific for many years. A recent article in the Washington Missourian illustrates it’s not only a tradition that dates longer than most residents can remember, but it began as a prank:

The annual installation dates back to the 1930s when a live tree was installed on the bluff each year. Lions were allowed to cut the biggest tree they could find from the grounds at St. Joseph Hill Infirmary in northwest Jefferson County, south of Pacific.

Even before the tree was on the bluff, there was a Christmas tree in Downtown Pacific which merchants placed on a pedestal at the center of the traffic island that stood in the center of First and St. Louis streets. […]

As a prank one December, two local boys, the late Johnny Faszold and Joe McHugh, lifted the tree from its base and carried it to Blackburn Park and set it close to the edge of the bluff so it could be seen.

The following morning the town was baffled that anyone would be so unfriendly as to take the town Christmas tree. When someone finally noticed it up on the bluff, several of the men said they would go up and retrieve it but on second thought, the shoppers thought it looked so good it was decided to leave it there.

Also, at the same bluff, Pacific residents set up a nativity scene in one of the grottoes each Christmas season. The nativity scene boasts a 43-year tradition.

(Photos courtesy of Tiffany Wilson, Pacific Area Chamber of Commerce)

4 thoughts on “Pacific’s 70-year Christmas tradition began as a prank

  1. Wow! A blast from the past. You just made my Christmas. As a child I grew up looking for this very scene every year right before Christmas. I would beg my parents to drive by the cave so I could see it. We lived out in Crestview Acres. I’m glad it’s back….Thank You!

    Marvena Maxberry

  2. Hi Marvena seeing your name and this story was a blast from my past, I’m so happy to see this picture of the nativity, it always meant so much to me on Christmas to see the tree and the nativity. My dad would always take us to see it when I was little, a sweet memory. I loved it. It’s such a perfect way to display the Christmas story. Merry Christmas! Diana (Bougeno) Fehn

  3. I loved seeing the tree on the bluff and the Nativity scene in the front every year. This was my view from my back yard as I grew up right next to the bluff. It meant so much to me and still recall it in fond memories to my friends here in Louisiana where I have been for the past 25 years. Such a beautiful sight for all to see.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.