It used to sparkle with lights, a holiday tradition. Sunday, the towering spruce tree beside the Douglas County Courthouse was removed.
"It wasn't a healthy tree anymore," said Keith Kesler, director of emergency management for the county.
The tree was planted in the 1950s by a county employee and his son. For a number of years in the 1990s and early 2000s, the tree served as the city Christmas tree -- decked out in twinkling lights for the holidays. Center City Park is now home to Superior's annual holiday festivities, but the stately spruce remained to shade the courthouse.
In recent years, the branches of the tree facing Hammond Avenue have been dying, although the crown of the tree remained green. While the spruce wasn't in imminent danger of falling, Kesler said, it was failing and becoming an eyesore.
"It was not ready to blow down," said County Board Chairman Doug Finn. "But we felt it was better to take it down now rather than wait for an emergency."
ADVERTISEMENT
Greg Ukkola and his crew from Northern Lakes Tree Service pulled the approximately 60-foot-tall tree down Sunday, first lopping off the branches. Many of the limbs were still strung with old holiday lights and extension cords.
The Maple man chose Sunday for the work to avoid pedestrian traffic to and from the courthouse.
Taking the tree down was a simple maintenance decision, Kesler said. The cost for the job was $1,150. Earlier this month, the county administration committee approved the project.
The rocks that were under the tree will be removed this spring, but the site won't stay empty for long.
"We've been approached by a couple of families asking if they could plant trees in the courthouse lawn in memory of people who worked at the courthouse," Finn said. "We'll probably plant at least one tree over there."
