Tree Time Again: The East Road Decor

If you’re fishing for some good, local sightseeing, all you need to do is drive by the famous decorated, heart-shaped tree hollow on East Road at Route 36 in the Belford section of Middletown.

Patch was by there recently and happy to see that Maurice and Penny Sherman, notch decorators extraordinaire, have, after a short respite, taken to their decorating ways once again.

The couple has made it their own tradition, for the past seven years (since they moved into the neighborhood), to give passersby an entertaining eyeful. The mysterious heart shaped hollow in the trunk of the tree seemed to be begging for some attention, so shortly after they moved into their home, they stuck a pair of boots in it one Halloween as a joke and haven’t stopped adorning it since.  It’s been the talk of the township. Then, one day the hollow was alarmingly barren.

A few months ago, Patch writer Dw. Dunphy sat down with the Shermans and found out the reason. Maurice Sherman, chief tree decorator of the couple, had undergone triple bypass heart surgery and his tree decorating had to be put on hold, his wife had told Dunphy in March.

By the looks of the tree, though, he’s well on the mend and the tree has its standard summer-themed fishing décor, replete with twinkly lights, blue background, symbolizing water, and a fishing pole with fish dangling on it and in the water, a la Finding Nemo.

The Shermans were not at home when Patch came by, but we were still able to catch the decor on film.

From what we’ve heard around town about the tree, we think we speak for many Middletown residents when we, at Patch, say, "Thanks for making the most of the little things in life and making our day brighter with your special tree!"

and find out more about the Shermans and the history of their tree on East Road.

The information in this story was culled from Dw. Dunphy's interview with Penny Sherman in March.