A towering statue of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius decked out in a Santa hat has become part of the festive scenery in Spring Grove.

The improbable story started a few years back when Mary Bychowski noticed the statue on a lawn in neighboring Solon Mills.

Toga clad. Mounted on a horse. And big. A good 12 feet tall.

"We'd think, what is that doing there?" said Bychowski, who lives in Spring Grove. "It was so huge. But you got used to it."

Then she returned from vacation in the summer of 2001 and found Marcus on her front lawn.

Turned out the fiberglass statue had been acquired by Neil Anderson, a longtime friend of the family, who carefully positioned the statue to look like a suitor for another of Bychowski's lawn decorations--a female figure named Caroline.

"He just gets that twinkle in his eye, and you know he's up to something," Bychowski said of Anderson.

The Roman emperor came to be known as Sir Studphen.

Love letters began appearing in Caroline's basket.

The statue finally was moved to a plot owned by Anderson in the middle of town, at Main Street Road and Blivin Street.

Now, it's become a holiday tradition for Bychowski and Anderson's wife, Patty, to dress up the emperor appropriately for the season.