ROBERT GARDNER -- The Verdict

There seems to be some confusion as to just who floated the first

Christmas tree around Newport Harbor.

The very first floating Christmas tree was put on the harbor by the

original Junior Chamber of Commerce -- the pre-World War II chamber --

the existence of which came to a screeching halt on Dec. 7, 1941.

That Junior Chamber of Commerce had three presidents: Bob Allen, myself

and Cuba Morris. The first floating Christmas tree occurred during Cuba’s

reign. Having come up with the idea, we checked with the Forestry

Department. They said we could have a certain tree, which had to be

removed so that a road could be widened.

A group of us immediately drove up into the San Bernardino mountains to

fetch that tree. Gulp! We hadn’t planned on quite that large a tree. We

had in mind something about twice the size of a normal Christmas tree.

This one would have been quite at home among the giant redwoods. Cutting

it down wasn’t too difficult, but getting in on our small truck took some

doing.

Fortunately, Morris, a police officer, and Daryl King, a fishing boat

operator, were the kind of people who can make impossible things work.

Somehow, by using ropes and pulleys while the rest of us looked on

helplessly, they got the heavy end of the tree on our truck.

The top of the tree rested on a dolly a vast distance from the truck.

That took care of the length of the tree. However, its width presented a

more serious situation. It would simply push any oncoming car off that

narrow mountain road.

So the rest of us climbed into a lead car and went down the mountain,

helpfully shouting “Run for the hills!” or “The redcoats are coming!”

except for one guy who kept repeating, “Repent! Repent!”

I think he had been drinking.

We got down from the mountains without pushing any cars over any cliffs.

And we got through San Bernardino without knocking over any buildings,

although we had a close call making a right turn on the corner where the

Harris department store had its perfume counter.

Going through Santa Ana Canyon -- then a narrow two-lane road -- we were

not so lucky. A couple cars went into the river, but it was low and no

one was hurt.

When we arrived home, our next challenge was finding a barge large enough

to handle our giant tree. Finally, King found a huge barge left from the

big dredge of 1935-36, and again he and Morris -- by use of ropes and

pulleys -- were able to erect the tree.

All of the members of the Junior Chamber, about 10 of us, rode along,

singing Christmas carols.

After World War II, a new Junior Chamber came into being under the

leadership of Dean Bradford. They repeated the floating Christmas tree

routine, but lacked the “repent” guy, which took some of the spirit out

of the occasion.

* ROBERT GARDNER is a Corona del Mar resident and former judge. His

column runs Tuesdays.