People who drive along Randall Road in Elgin have most likely already seen the Colorado blue spruce that Elgin was putting up as its holiday tree on Thursday along DuPage Court downtown.
Since the early 1990s, the 55-foot-tall evergreen has stood off the northwest corner of Randall and Highland Avenue by the illuminated sign for Journey of Hope United Methodist Church.
“My son, Web, was a little guy back then. He and I and (the late) Chuck Stettner (cq) planted it there one fall,” Jim Eby said.
Eby worked for the Bartlett Park District at the time. He won the tree, which came from a now-closed nursery in Algonguin, during a raffle at a meeting for staff from various park districts.
“The tree was just 6-feet-tall at the time, but I knew it would grow too big for where we live in Elgin. So we wound up donating it to our church, where it’s become known as the big tree on the corner,” Eby said.
The church began as Epworth United Methodist Church in 1895 and moved from the east side of Elgin to this location in the early 1980s, current lead pastor, Rev. Jarrod Severing, said.
“So much growth has happened over the decades as God has grown not only the tree, but also this wonderful community of faith now known as Journey of Hope,” Severing said.
Eby said the spot chosen on church grounds was a perfect, wide-open one, allowing the tree to thrive, even as traffic grew along Randall Road.
“But the tree was reaching the point of being a bit overwhelming on this corner, and was also diagnosed as reaching the end of its life,” Severing said. “Before we just cut it down, we thought it would be a wonderful gift to the Elgin community’s Christmas season and allow the entire community to enjoy the majesty of this wonderful evergreen.”
(Photo courtesy of Journey of Hope Church.)
Eby said the church had at one time submitted the tree to be the one used in downtown Chicago, as well. Elgin picked it from six submitted entries, city officials said.
Elgin taking the tree for the holidays is not only a very appropriate use for the spruce, Eby said, but also saves the church money it would have had to ultimately spend on having to remove it.
The tree’s new role will also provide Eby and his family some new holiday memories of their own. He recalled that, as a child, his family would head from Streator to downtown Chicago to see the big city’s decorations, particularly the window displays at Marshall Field’s and the Christmas tree in the Walnut Room there.
“It’s going to be really fun for me and (my wife) Lisa to take our grandkids to see the tree in downtown Elgin,” Eby said.
Eby was also happy to hear what Elgin would be doing with the tree after the holidays, giving it one final role to play.
According to a news release, once removed from DuPage Court, the spruce will be cut down to a manageable size and taken by the city’s Land Management and Forestry staff to Lords Park Zoo. There, it will be used as enrichment for animals, as a perching structure and for composting to help enrich the soil.
“All this gives the tree’s life a happy ending,” Eby said.
Elgin’s tree-lighting celebration is set to take place at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 29. For more information, visit elginil.gov/2499/Winter-Holiday-Events.
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for the Elgin Courier-News.