Community comes together for Christmas tree decorating

It takes a village to raise a tree; Christmas tree, that is.

On Dec. 3, the efforts of people throughout Wrangell will culminate in the lighting of the community Christmas tree, a decades-long tradition.

A "very full and pretty" pine tree located behind the state highway equipment shop on the Airport Loop Road will be cut down next Monday and taken downtown to be set in a stand between the Elks Lodge and L&M gas station, according to Dominique O'Connor, secretary for Wrangell Municipal Light & Power.

"I'm very excited. It's actually been a community event that gone on (many years)," she said.

While the tree is picked out by Rod Rhoades, superintendent of the power utility, along with staff, the decorations are provided by the chamber of commerce and students at Evergreen Elementary.

For at least 25 years, students at the school have created ornaments for the tree, along with their family members, said Jenn Miller-Yancey, assistant principal. The students use recycled materials that are both weatherproof and waterproof to last all month, making snowflakes, presents and candy canes to adorn the tree.

"In years past, we would coordinate it so that we would go downtown, sing carols, and watch the students put the ornaments on," Miller-Yancey said. "That got a little harder over time ... so we haven't been able to do that for a lot of years."

This year, the parent-teacher community club for Evergreen got involved to encourage families to come to the school and create the decorations. Every student from kindergarten through fifth grade was involved, she said.

"We tried to use recyclables or very inexpensive materials to teach the students they can make things out of garbage," Miller-Yancey said. Students marbleized plastic jugs to look like light bulbs, beaded old compact discs, and fashioned foam "pool noodles" to resemble candy canes.

One thing that will be missing from the tree lighting this year is the fireworks that would shoot out of the top when the tree was lit. It was decided that due to the proximity of the tree to the gas station, fireworks weren't a good idea.

"Oh, that was fun. (We) shot fireworks out the top when they threw the switch on the lights! Good times," said Clay Hammer, the former superintendent of the power utility. He said the trick to picking out the tree each year is judging the height. "The main thing is for it to be taller than Petersburg's!"

This year's tree is XX feet high. The lighting will take place at 6 p.m. Dec. 3 downtown.