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Portland finds its Christmas tree near Payson Park.

By DIETER BRADBURY Online Reporter November 6, 2007

The blue spruce in Scott and MaryLou Johnson’s yard has a date with a chain saw.

That’s what fate holds in store when you grow straight, tall and fast too close to a Portland street.

Jeff Tarling, the city’s arborist, says the Johnson’s tree has been chosen as the official Christmas tree for Monument Square, beating out competitors from all over Portland and several other towns.

Tarling said the 40-foot tree, located near the entrance to Payson Park at 493 Ocean Ave., was selected because of its size and accessibility to the street. Workers will cut down the spruce on Nov. 14 and truck it to Monument Square, where it will be decorated with lights and admired by passers-by as a holiday symbol.

That’s just fine with Scott Johnson, who has lived with the tree since he and his wife moved into their Ocean Avenue home in the late 1980s.

“It’s big enough now where every time there’s a big storm, we worry that it’s going to fall onto the house or onto Ocean Avenue,” he said.

The tree was only a few feet tall when it was transplanted in 1978 to its present location, a home then owned by Johnson’s parents, Keith and Elizabeth Johnson. Scott Johnson said his brother-in-law brought the tree over from Westbrook, where it had been dug up to make way for a swimming pool.

An American elm once grew on the spot where the blue spruce now stands, but the elm was taken down after it succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease, Johnson said.

Given all the family history attached to the tree, Johnson said he may feel a twinge or two when the chain saw snarls into action later this month. But the city is planning to salve the pain by helping Johnson plant a new tree on the site.

“They want to put a tree back in its place, and we’re going to help them do that,” Tarling said. He is busy now mapping out a route that will get the big spruce to Monument Square in one piece. A few years ago, Tarling noted, the branches of a blue spruce brushed against the underside of the University of Southern Maine’s skywalk when it was trucked down Bedford Street.

“This tree is a little narrower, so we shouldn’t have too many problems this year,” he said.

The city’s decision to take the Johnson tree is bound to disappoint some of the 25 or so other people who nominated trees of their own for the Monument Square display.

Mary Grenier, who was hoping the city would choose a blue spruce that is crowding her house on Veranda Street, took a philosophical approach to being passed over.

“You just roll with the punches,” she said. “Maybe it will grow another couple of inches and be just what they want next year.”

Dieter Bradbury is the online reporter for pressherald.com, where this report initially appeared. Bradbury’s beat is designed to engage directly with readers and glean story ideas from your suggestions, Web postings and feedback. If you have comments, please post them at pressherald.com or send Bradbury an e-mail at: dbradbury@pressherald.com