On our way to a holiday celebration in Duncan last week, we passed a Christmas tree at the side of the highway.
"That's a quirk,” I said, flying by at 100 km/hour. I made a mental note and went back later in the week for photos and a closer look.
It wasn"t nearly as impressive as it had been when I first saw it and there are signs that in addition to decorating the roadside tree, the persons responsible have also un-decorated it. There are a few remaining decorations that indication the spirit of the holiday season past and the whole thing gets me wondering…who’s responsible for this? Why?
!! MYSTERY SOLVED !!
Ask and 'ye shall receive! That’s what happened last week when I asked if anyone knew anything about the Christmas tree at the side of the Parkway.
“My husband was laughing and laughing,” says Shirley Gueho, who emailed after reading the column. “You’re not going to believe it but somebody wrote about our tree!”
It turns out that Victor and his grandson Dylan have been decorating a highway tree since the Parkway opened about seven years ago.
“It’s not meant to look good close up,” says Sylvia. “It’s meant to give you that Christmas spirit and perhaps a smile as you are driving by at 90 km/hour - and at that speed, you must agree the tree looks pretty darn good.”
Shirley and her family love decorating for Christmas but their double-wide trailer doesn’t present a lot opportunity for a big, bushy tree, so they do the next best thing.
“We still get to decorate a tree even if we don’t have one inside,” says Sylvia. “We use old garland, cans, pull tabs so that if it rains or snows, it’s weather proof.”
Published in the Nanaimo Daily News on Thursday, January 6, 2005 and Thursday, January 13, 2005. Copyright (c) Kait Light, kaitsquirks.com, Nanaimo, BC, Canada. All Rights Reserved.
