1996 >> December >> OH CHRISTMAS TREE OH CHRISTMAS TREE  

OH, CHRISTMAS TREE, OH, CHRISTMAS TREE...
by Louis Bornman

Reprinted from "Crown Jewels of the Wire", December 1996, page 31

How lovely are thy 42’s?

The photo is of a Christmas decoration I saw in Weston, Missouri over the 1995 Christmas holidays. Although I did not get to see the “tree” lighted at night, I can imagine that it probably looked really neat. There is a string (or several strings) of lights strung on this man-made tree with the miniature tree lights stuck up into the insulators. The lights are also up in the insulators that are stuck on the fence pickets beside the tree. As you can see the tree is made from four spoke type wheels mounted on a center pole with insulators wired to the outer rim of the wheels. The top portion is sort of an upside down tomato cage with insulator and green garland attached. The green garland in the center was added to give it that live tree look and the base is mounted on a tree stump where a real tree once stood. A sign in front of the tree indicates that the creator may have been paid to construct this glorious work of art. The sign reads: A Weston Bequest..Antiquity Foundation Endowment by way of the Burton Hiatt Seasonal Commemorative Conservancy for Safeguarding and Preserving “Art in Salvage”. I have not been able to talk to the owner as no one was home during the day while I was in Weston. Maybe the owner will have the tree again this year.



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