December photo contest winner’s unique Christmas tree showcases special ornaments

December photo contest winner’s unique Christmas tree showcases special ornaments

Jeri Petersen’s picture of her gold metal tree decorated with Shiny Brite ornaments won the Fort Worth Report’s December photo contest. (Courtesy photo | Jeri Petersen)
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Jeri Petersen was in Pier 1 a couple of years ago when she saw it — a two-and-a-half-foot-tall gold metal tree with branches sticking out at random.

She stared at the tree, confused. Then suddenly, it hit her: It would be perfect for displaying her vintage Shiny Brites. 

“This is the perfect way to hang my little ornaments,” Petersen recalled thinking at the time.

Now she displays her family’s treasured ornaments on the tree every Christmas. Her picture of the tree won the Fort Worth Report’s December “Christmas Tree” photo contest.

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When Petersen and her husband were in their early 20s and newly married, they went to a tree lot and bought the cheapest tree they could find. Young and without any money, they didn’t have any ornaments to put on the tree.

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January photo contest

We’re excited to unveil the theme for January’s photo contest: New Year Celebrations! Get ready to show how you and your loved ones ring in the new year!

Whether it’s banging pots and pans as soon as the clock hits midnight or finding a loved one for a New Year’s kiss, we want to see it all. Show what makes your New Year celebration uniquely yours.

To submit your photos, go here.

Don’t forget to come back and vote for your favorite photo by clicking the Like button. The winner of this month’s photo contest will receive a $50 gift card for an area restaurant. The entry deadline is Jan. 31.

Her husband’s family gave them a box of Shiny Brites to use. Over time, though, the couple got more ornaments, and the Shiny Brites weren’t used as much.

Peterson struggled to find a way to display them. The Shiny Brites seemed out of place among her more modern ornaments.

“They just sat in a box while I was waiting to figure out how I could put them out in the house in an appropriate way,” she said.

Peterson did some research to learn more about Shiny Brites.

Boxes of the American-made ornaments, created during World War II, often had an image of Uncle Sam shaking Santa’s hand. 

Petersen looked at the packaging for her Christmas decorations. 

Sure enough, the picture was on the package, leading Petersen to believe that the Shiny Brites were among the earliest manufactured.

She loves the ornaments because of what they represent. Her dad and her father-in-law both served in the military during World War II. Every time she looks at the ornaments, she thinks about the sacrifices people made during hard times, she said.

“That little bit of heritage, nostalgia and memorabilia means a lot, plus the fact that they’re hard to get anymore,” Petersen said. “I mean, you can pay $100 for an ornament now if you can even find them. We really treasure the ones that we have in our little box.”

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The ornaments also remind Petersen of growing up during the 1950s. They are important to her children, too. The ornaments remind them of their grandparents, Petersen said.

Now the Shiny Brites sparkle on her gold metal tree.

“It’s not a traditional tree in any sense of the word,” Petersen said. “So it seemed so perfect for those special little ornaments.”

Keyla Holmes is a reporting fellow for the Fort Worth Report. You can contact her at keyla.holmes@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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