CUMBERLAND — The Young family has long been rooted in Cumberland, and this year is no different.
Friday night, some of the family’s youngest members lit a Christmas tree that was planted by descendants in 1965.
The 60-year-old tree sits atop the hill outside Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Washington Street and was planted in memory of George Young’s maternal grandfather, William Jenkins.
“The tree’s been there for some time, and I’ve kind of been enlisted to look after the property for the church. In the course of looking after the property, making sure the lights work and all this, that and the other things,” Young said.
“The tree’s been lit over the years and I thought it would be appropriate if the great-great-grandchildren lit the tree.”
Young and his son, George M. “Mac” Young II, are the owners of Eaton-Young Furniture and Mattress, and his family has long had businesses in Cumberland.
Young passed off the responsibility of lighting the tree to his three grandchildren — Lucas and Sophia Young and 3-year-old Lucas Beatty. Young said he hopes this is the beginning of a new family tradition.
“They know they’re going to do this, and the little 3-year-old, I don’t know how excited he can possibly be,” Young said this week. “He’s coming down to Grandma and Grandad’s, so I think he’ll get a kick out of that.”
He said that from where he sits in his office, he can look out and see a bill of sale from Charles Young and Son from May 23, 1874.
“So, the family’s been doing business here for — in one way or another — about 150 years,” he said. “We’re part of the community and have been for a long, long, long time. And we’re proud of it,” he said.