Some 33 years after planting a pine tree at Solstice Senior Living in Bangor, resident and volunteer Dan Sprague drove the tree into downtown Bangor to serve as this year’s holiday tree.
Bangor public works crews installed and strung lights around the 42-foot Norway spruce in West Market Square on Tuesday morning, just two days before Thanksgiving, marking the start of the holiday season.
“It’s a beautiful tree,” said Sprauge, co-owner of Sprague’s Nursery and Garden Center. “It’s always a relief to get it untied and off the truck.”
A Bangor Public Works crew installs a holiday tree in downtown Bangor on Tuesday morning. Credit: Linda Coan O’Kresik / BDN
More than 25 years ago, Sprague said he heard an ad on the radio stating the city was looking for help bringing a holiday tree into downtown Bangor. With his background in plants, he decided to volunteer for the job and has donated a holiday tree to the city each year since then.
“I like doing it for the city,” Sprague said. “I’m 72 years old and still doing it. As long as I can do it, I will. I have a few years left in me and I already have next year’s tree picked out.”
David McElvain, Spague’s nephew and owner of Hartt’s Electric in Levant, donates his time and equipment each year to help his uncle harvest, transport and raise the tree.
“The city of Bangor owes a debt of gratitude to volunteers Dan Sprague and David McElvain,” Aaron Huotari, Bangor public works director, said. “They’ve been doing this for a long time, and it’s a lot of work to safely take the tree down, bring it here and set it back up, and we’re in their debt. They come together as a family to contribute to our joy.”
Sprague planted this year’s holiday tree more than 30 years ago when Solstice Senior Living was built. He spotted it while spending time in the area and knew it’d be a good tree to give to the city.
Sprague said he prefers to choose a balsam fir, but a Norway spruce will suffice, as both varieties are usually strong and beautiful. By comparison, a blue spruce may look the part, Sprague said, but they’ll get brittle in the cold weather. Sprague also aims to pick a tree between 35 and 42 feet tall.
“I never get the perfect tree — perfect for me anyway — but this year’s tree is in the top five,” Sprague said. “It’s a really good one.”
Oftentimes, how accessible a tree is is more important in the selection process than what it looks like, Sprague said. A tree can’t be too far from the road and too close to electrical wires, as both could pose safety hazards when it comes time to harvest the tree.
Though the tree is up and the lights have been strung, the city won’t officially light the tree until its annual Festival of Lights parade on Dec. 3, put on by the Rotary Club of Bangor. The parade will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Exchange Street and move down Harlow Street, Central Street and Main Street, and pass Davenport Park.