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COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — One neighborhood has over 87,000 lit holiday lights, thanks to the generosity of a few neighbors.
Doug Cahoon said his neighbor, Adam Green, came over a few years ago asking if he could light Cahoon's great, big oak tree. The next year, Green asked to light all of Cahoon's trees.
"The first year, it looked really great. And then I was like, 'You know what? I think we can do better. We could do a little more,'" Green said. "And he was gracious enough to allow me to get the rest of his trees roped into it."
The idea originated three years ago. "I lived right across the street from Doug. He's got this huge silver maple in his front yard — it's ginormous. And I just was looking at it one day, thinking that would look amazing if it was wrapped in lights like they do at Temple Square," Green said.
However, last summer, the Greens moved to Spain.
"A guy that normally walks the neighborhood asked me in September, he says, '(Are) you doing the lights this year?'" Cahoon said. "And I said 'I didn't do the lights last year or the year before. … I don't think so because they're moving to Spain.'"
Cahoon thought that was the end of the neighborhood's annual light show. Then, in October, crews showed up to light the trees, once again.
Green said in his previous years of paying for the trees to be decorated, he actually bought the lights, so he decided even if he isn't there to see them this year, they're better on the trees than sitting in a warehouse.
Cahoon said Green is being too humble about it.
"It's really about the Greens and their generosity in providing this gift for everyone," Cahoon said. "We just provide the trees and the electricity."
A couple of the trees are quite a bit taller than Cahoon's two-story home. He said the crew that put up the lights had to use two lifts to get them all up, hanging them over the course of about five days.
Cahoon wants everyone to know about the kindness of his former neighbors Adam and Shantel Green. You can view the lights at 3131 Alta Hills Drive, in Cottonwood Heights.
Contributing: Devin Oldroyd
