Chicago’s 55-foot Christmas tree donated by Elgin couple
Connie and Gene Nelson and their family watched Thursday morning as the 55-foot blue spruce tree in front of their Elgin home was cut down.
The 46-year-old tree, older than the Lyle Avenue home they moved into 23 years ago, was the backdrop for many family photos and memories, they said. Its new role as the city of Chicago’s Millennium Park Christmas tree means it will be doing the same for the thousands who will gaze upon it this holiday season.
“The last family picture in front of the tree will probably be downtown (in Chicago),” said Jennifer Melton, Gene and Connie’s daughter.
The Nelsons joined neighbors and onlookers to watch a landscaping crew saw through the trunk of the 7,000pound tree and lift it via crane onto a flatbed truck for its two-day journey first to Long Grove and then to Chicago.
The family’s tree was selected from among 41 submitted for the honor this year, according to the City of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
In order to be considered, a tree must be at least 55 feet tall, come from a community within 100 miles of Chicago, and be a fir or blue spruce, Chicago Cultural Affairs and Special Events spokeswoman Mary May said.
It will take about a week and a half to add 40,000 to 50,000 lights to the tree, which will be topped by a star, May said.
The Nelsons said they hope the decorators have a better experience than they did.
“We had this beautiful tree that could be decorated. But it was just too big,” Connie Nelson said. “It took so many lights that we were blowing fuses all the time.”
It is the second Elgin tree to be selected by Chicago as its official Christmas tree in the last five years. The first was a blue spruce donated by Donna Atkinson in 2014.
“We’re an older town, so our trees are older and bigger,” Connie Nelson said.
The couple applied for the distinction two years ago, making it as far as the final three, she said. Ultimately, officials decided it wasn’t tall enough at the time.
The process of taking it down was “really interesting to watch,” said Connie Nelson, who watched most of the prep work from her second-floor home office window. “At one time, they had six guys up in that tree. We never noticed how big it was until we saw people in it,” she said.
BrightView, the landscaping firm that assists the city of Chicago in the search, selection, removal and transportation process, will keep the tree on its Long Grove property until it’s time to move it to Millennium Park Friday night.
The Nelson family will join Santa Claus and other guests for the 106th annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 22. Gene and Connie’s grandchildren, Jace and Adam, will be the ones turning the lights on, the family said.
They’ve been downtown to see previous trees, and they’re eager to see how theirs stacks up, the couple said.
“We like to go to Chicago to see the Christmas tree,” Connie Nelson said. “Before this, we would look at those trees and say, “Well, our tree is better than that one.’ I think our tree is going to look beautiful (at Millennium Park).”
“We’re proud to say it is our tree,” Gene Nelson said.
The tradition of a municipal Christmas tree started in 1913, when Mayor Carter H. Harrison turned on the lights to the first one in Grant Park on Christmas Eve, according to the city’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events.
That tree was a 35-foot Douglas spruce placed on 40-foot poles and studded with smaller trees to give it the appearance of a much larger tree.
Following stints at Grant Park, Daley Plaza and the intersection of State Street and Wacker Drive, the tree’s official location was moved to Millennium Park in 2015.
As to whether they’ll be planting another tree to take the spruce’s place, Gene Nelson said they aren’t sure. But he was optimistic that the magnolia tree and bushes that are also part of their yard would finally grow now that they’re not being blocked from the sun, he said.
“Nothing would grow well over here,” he said. “That is likely to change.”