PORTLAND, Maine — Sure, the branches are a bit sparse. A few are even dead and bare, especially at eye level. It doesn’t have a perfect triangle taper. A chunk appears to be missing on one side. The trunk is a bit twisted and definitely leaning toward Sawyers.
There’s no denying it, Portland’s official holiday tree in Monument Square is far from perfect.
City officials are hearing about it, too, in snide phone calls and excoriating online comments as they gear up for the annual tree-lighting ceremony Friday afternoon. The guff is particularly stinging to Portland’s forestry workers, who’ve endured unwarranted public criticism this year while cutting down hundreds of the city’s trees due to insect infestations.
The harsh words have left some wondering if the haters have any idea what the holidays are really all about.
Listen:
Transcript
“[Indistinguishable]…A group of us were wondering about the tree in Monument Square,”
[In background] “Yeah, the Charlie Brown one,”
“Is that for real? Or is this a joke?”
“Have you got the real one coming before Thanksgiving I hope?”
“That’s terrible, it’s a disgrace…disgrace.”
[In background] “Disgrace to the city of Portland.”
“The unflattering comments have caught some staff off guard, for sure,” said city spokesperson Jessica Grondin. “We’re trying to remind people that it’s OK to embrace an imperfect tree and remember that it will look better when lit.”
Grondin said the city has fielded several angry phone calls about the tree. One deriding message featured two guffawing characters asking if the holiday tree was just a joke and would later be replaced.
“Will the real one be coming before Thanksgiving?” the voice asked, “That’s terrible — a disgrace.”
More than 500 comments have also sprouted beneath Portland Downtown’s Facebook post announcing the 40-foot blue spruce’s arrival on Nov. 20. Many are downright cruel.
“I’ve lived in Portland [all] my life and we never ever had a tree that looks so sick,” wrote one commenter.
Others referred to the tree, which came from a Portland resident’s Hartley Street yard, as “embarrassing,” “hideous” and “sad.”
Portland parks director Alex Marshall said he tries to ignore the online criticism, but it still smarts.
“It is very unfortunate to see the community react in this way when the true beauty of the holidays are for connection and gratitude, among many others,” Marshall said.
Marshall admits the tree, chosen partially for its height and proximity to Monument Square, was not thriving, but that was actually a good reason to make it this year’s holiday centerpiece.
“I found this year’s tree to be an opportunity to see the beauty in something that was not long for this world and could serve a purpose on its way out after all that it has done for our climate and community,” Marshall said.
Marshall said he feels particularly bad for his employees who’ve done their best this year to improve the city’s canopy while being forced to cut down more than 140 trees due to emerald ash borer infestations.
“The negative comments from that essential work was [already] fairly frequent and took its toll,” he said.
Not everyone in the public is down on the tree, however.
Erica Burke owns Burke’s Perks coffee shop in Monument Square, directly across from the tree. Burke said it’s been a constant topic of conversation since it arrived and most comments are negative.
“But I turn them around to the positive,” she said. “It’s got character. People can be so dramatic.”
By far, the most popular derogatory description online, and amongst passersby on Tuesday, was that the evergreen was a “Charlie Brown tree.”
The comparisons make one wonder if the haters ever understood the beloved holiday cartoon’s closing message.
“I never thought it was such a bad little tree,” Linus states near the end, wrapping his beloved blanket around Charlie Brown’s beleaguered little evergreen’s base. “It’s not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love.”
Then the whole Peanuts gang decorates it, joins hands and belts “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” — and presto, the scraggly tree is transformed into a perfect specimen via the miracle of Christmas joy and togetherness.
Perhaps the imaginary scene will play out in real life when the public gathers around Portland’s holiday tree for Friday afternoon’s lighting ceremony.
Burke, for one, is sure of it.
“Once it’s all lit up, it’ll be fine,” she said.
