Community Christmas Tree, dark since 1932, is set to shine again this season

By CATHY ULRICH
Of The Gazette Staff

Thanks to the efforts of Renee Christiansen with Billings Historic Tours, a part of Billings' history will be revived this year.

The Community Christmas Tree at the corner of First Avenue North and Division Street will be lit - with strands of lights holding more than 1,500 multicolored bulbs.

The Community Christmas Tree was lit for the last time in 1932. The tree brightened the holiday season with the glow of 40 lights. Because of vandalism, the tree has remained dark for the past 75 Christmas seasons.

"The last 11 years, we've been talking about the Community Christmas Tree on our tours," Christiansen said. "About a year ago, I thought ... I've got to get this ball rolling. With Billings being 125 years old now, everything was just right."

Previous attempts to bring the light of the Community Christmas Tree back to Billings haven't been as lucky. Several years ago, Marian Cooke, who co-owns Holliday Furniture, and some others decorated the tree for the holidays.

"I've known where it was, partly because I'm old and partly because I'm close to it down here," Cooke said.

But the tree remained dark.

"When we asked the electrical company, they didn't have a line down here, and nobody wanted to pay for it," she said. "So we didn't light it."

This year, Yellowstone Electric Co. is celebrating its 70th anniversary of providing the Christmas lights for downtown Billings. In honor of the anniversary, the company is bringing electricity to the tree.

"They took this on as a community project," Christiansen said. "They're the ones putting the lights on the tree."

The Downtown Billings Association is holding a fundraiser
in which community members can sponsor light strands for $100. There will also be a raffle of a painting of the tree by Lena Olson.

"We're going to raffle that off to come up with money to keep
it lit," said Mikal Young with the DBA. "It needs lights, that poor little guy."

The tree was donated to the city by the Billings Garden Club in 1931, 19 years after the Community Christmas tree concept was developed in New York.

"This was a nationwide project," Christianson said. "They asked different communities to take on having a Community Christmas tree, so if someone was here by themselves, didn't have anyone to celebrate with, they could always go to a Christmas tree and feel comforted."

The Billings Garden Club went a step further and donated a park to the city. The park is across from Central High.

"Not only did they plant a tree, they built a whole park," Christianson said.

Christianson may have spearheaded the efforts to get the Community Christmas tree relit for this holiday season, but she is quick to share credit with the DBA, the city's Parks and Recreation Department and Yellowstone Electric Co., which has offices at 1919 Fourth Ave. N.

"It's never an I, it's always a we," she said. "The community really pitched in. Don't we have a wonderful community here?"
Published on Thursday, November 22, 2007.
Last modified on 11/22/2007 at 9:18 am

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