A lit tree is Augusta man's dying wish
AUGUSTA -- Before death takes him from the loving arms of his family, Robert Bell Sr. wanted his wife to have something she had always wished for: Christmas tree lights strung on the 50-foot blue spruce he planted for her 42 years ago.
Now, the 74-year-old Bell is dying of throat cancer.
Bell bought the tree for his wife, Elizabeth, as a Mothers' Day present just after he returned home from the Vietnam War.
Bell, who lives in a single-wide trailer on Eastern Avenue in Augusta, asked his son, Robert Bell Jr., and his partner, Katrina Leighton, who live next door, to decorate the tree.
Leighton said they didn't realize how expensive it would be to light a 50-foot spruce.
After they went out and bought the lights, they had to rent a bucket truck that cost $500 to reach the top of the tree. The family was able to scrape together the money. And it took a whole day to string the lights.
Then, last week, Maine was hit with an ice storm.
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http://kennebecjournal.mainetoday.com/news/local/5745788.htmlFrom a story just reported on cnn, the community did help out and got the tree lit again.