By Greg Madsen
For the Sequim Gazette
Rising more than 30 feet over the city’s main crossroads, Sequim’s Holiday(s) tree is a record breaker.
Donated by City of Sequim communications and marketing director Barbara Hanna, this perfectly symmetrical grand or white Fir (Abies grandis) kept throwing challenges at a crack team of volunteer elves.
Emily Westcott, head elf in the tree-raising endeavor, was breathless as the tree was gently rolled onto Dave Bekkevar’s flatbed. A crew of six stood ready: four more Bekkevars — Eli, Ole, Jessica and Trish — along with Alex Hanson and Patrick Griffin. Westcott had seen several feet of the trunk removed to create a legal load.
Now she heard the sounds of multiple branches cracking as the tree settled under its weight. Although the grand fir is one of the most prized of the “Christmas tree” varieties, it is one of the most delicate.
Undaunted, and using Derryl Sharp’s loaned tools and sawhorses, Captain Crystal Stout, Jeff Perry, Charles Martin, Paula Clark and Westcott drilled holes and applied Gorilla Glue to “recompose” the tree’s branches.
Our stiff winds argued against tapering the trunk to fit the pavement mounting hole, so a City of Sequim crew — Rick Irish, Hank Arnold and Josh Henning — enlarged the hole to more than 15 inches diameter and a depth of 4 feet … perhaps setting the stage for a future of large trees?
Final touches were made after Dan Goettling’s crane slowly raised and secured the tree.
That night, a windstorm knocked the fir out of shape again, grounding several branches. Patrick Walker donated lights and his man-lift, and with Westcott and Stout’s work, the tree was restored and decorated the next day.
Then, the wind hit again.
Once more into the breach, the same crew swept into action salvaging ornaments and using zip-ties to re-restore branches, top to bottom.
As you take in the serenity and beauty of this grand fir — perhaps reflecting upon the joys of small town life — think of the band of volunteer elf warriors who knew how to make things happen.
Sometimes, it actually does take a village.
If you would like to donate Sequim’s 2017 Holiday Tree, contact the Sequim-Dungeness Valley Chamber of Commerce at 683-6197, info@sequimchamber.com or via www. sequimchamber.com.
Do you know a tree with a story? An unusual tree? A very large tree? We’d like to know about it. Contact us at news@sequimgazette.com.
