The tree inside Toot’s Grocery looks like a Christmas tree now, but it is only one of its many incarnations.

Whether it’s Mardi Gras, football season or Christmas, the tree changes month-to-month, thanks to lunch patron Maureen Corcoran who coaxed owner Pat Dennis about a decade ago to keep the tree up all year.

“She said, ‘If you’ll leave it up, I’ll decorate it once a month for different things that are going on,’” Dennis said.

Since then, Corcoran, an associate technical director at the Engineer Research and Development Center, has visited monthly putting unique, folksy ornaments on it to accompany the most current holiday or time of year.

“She supplies all the decorations and just comes in every few weeks and takes care of it,” Dennis said. “They do things for PAWS (animal rescue), things for the troops, Mardi Gras, Thanksgiving, football, all the schools — stuff like that.

“People love it,” he continued. “They come in in the summer and laugh at it and ask, ‘What are you doing with a Christmas tree up?’ I say, ‘Does it look like a Christmas tree?’”

For that reason, Corcoran said, they decided to rename the tree.

“People come in and they’ll say, ‘Christmas is over,’” Corcoran said. “It’s a seasonal tree, not a Christmas tree. I’m not a decorator, so whatever comes up gets on the tree.”

Corcoran said after two or three years, other customers began adding to the tree, solidifying its place in the store located at 2500 Confederate Ave.

Corcoran said customers bring in team mascots during football season and even suggest different themes.

“When the customers got involved, we knew it was here to stay,” Corcoran said. “It’s definitely a mainstay in Vicksburg.”

For Corcoran, Halloween, Memorial Day and the August decorations are her favorite.

For Memorial Day, she puts mementos, names and pictures of local veterans and service-members on the tree.

“We decided to do something special for Memorial Day, and that’s how that came about,” Corcoran said. “Then Halloween is fun because we have the ghoul tree-topper that talks when people come in, and the football one is a favorite. Everybody likes to see their team represented.”

Julie Kelley, a geologist at ERDC and one of Corcoran’s friends, began lending a hand eight years ago in the seasonal tree’s early days.

“It’s fun because we eat lunch here a lot,” Kelley said. “I usually come in for lunch while she’s decorating so I’ll help her out. It’s kind of a social thing to come visit with Pat and decorate.”

The decorations are not just for aesthetic pleasure either, Corcoran said.

During August, she hangs pictures of animals that PAWS has for adoption.

After Mardi Gras, Corcoran said she will try something new in 2013.

“I haven’t done a basketball or baseball tree, but I am collecting some of that,” Corcoran said. “It’s not as easy to find around here as football stuff.”