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Photo by Phyllis Russell
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Jeff and Suellen Johnson decorate the front of their Paducah home come Christmastime. But it’s nothing like the work they put into lighting their house—or rather, their yard—when their beloved dogwoods bloom. “My husband works himself to death stringing cords and lights all over the place,” Suellen said.
The Johnsons have what they consider the honor of living on Paducah’s Dogwood Trail. Each year, residents over a 12-mile area light up not only their dogwood trees but any and all landscape erupting in spring colors. The Johnsons, however, illuminate only their trees—all 60 of them.
“We moved here in 1969, and we’ve been real lucky ... both the front and back of our house is on the Dogwood Trail. We just always participated,” Johnson said. “[We] counted 60 dogwoods. Some are little bitties because we always keep them coming on.”
The Johnsons were one of 12 winners of the 2012 Dogwood Trail, held the last two weeks of March, which organizers say was the earliest it has ever been held. “This is the tricky thing. We don’t know what the weather is going to do,” said Dabney Haugh, a co-chair of the Trail. “We don’t know until about two weeks before the dogwoods are going to bloom.”
Once they know, residents are alerted via postcard, lights set up, maps printed and the word spread.
In 1964, Dolly McNutt—who later would serve as Paducah’s first female mayor—chaired the Civic Beautification Board and instituted the city’s first lighted Dogwood Trail. “At that time … it was just two blocks,” Haugh said. “Now, it’s about 10 to 12 miles, and it winds from neighborhood to neighborhood. You’ll have little gaps, and then you’ll have an entire neighborhood that’s fully lit up. The Trail lasts about two weeks, and we encourage people to light up [their dogwood trees at night] at that time.”
It earned such a name for itself that it was honored as part of the Library of Congress Local Legacies Project in 2000. Its fellow legacies on the list include the annual Fancy Farm Picnic, Trail of Tears Pow Wow, Churchill Downs, the Kentucky Derby Festival and the American Quilter’s Society.
Haugh says if Mother Nature times it right, the Trail coincides with other well-known Paducah events, such as the American Quilter’s Society’s QuiltWeek (see sidebar, page 27), which attracts more than 30,000 visitors to the city.
Although the timing of the Dogwood Trail’s lighting is never set in stone, there are several dates locked in for visitors. On April 7, the Dogwood Trail Bike Ride will begin at Bikeworld on Joe Clifton Drive and traverse the Dogwood Trail route, regardless of bloom time.
The Dogwood Festival Ball is set for April 13 at the Robert Cherry Civic Center, an event Haugh describes as a community favorite.
As for the Johnsons, the entire season is a great time to bring the community together—even if Trail visitors aren’t from Paducah. “It really is exciting and enjoyed by so many people,” she said. “Most of us drive the Trail. It’s really nice. There are more church buses in the day, and that’s very rewarding. It seems like people are just enjoying the event.”
If you go ...
Dogwood Trail Celebration, Paducah
For exact dates and a map of the Dogwood Trail, as well as information about the bicycle race, the festival ball and other related events, visit paducahky.gov/paducah/dogwood-trail.