Sisters tree to be lit on Friday

With frost on the ground and the sun peeking through the ponderosas, Dude Aylor of Sisters Tree led a team into the Metolius Preserve near Camp Sherman early Friday morning, November 17.

The event was the ceremonial cutting of the large Grand Fir that will adorn Sisters' Barclay Park during the holiday season.

The Deschutes Basin Land Trust donated the tree to the City of Sisters. The tree, which stands some 35 feet high, will be lit during a ceremony on Friday, November 24, at 5 p.m. Carolers from Sisters Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration will sing favorite Christmas songs, and Father Ted Rodrigues, the church's rector, will offer a blessing.

Speakers will be incoming chamber president Tate Metcalf, Land Trust executive director Brad Chalfant and mayor Dave Elliott. The Sisters Lions Club will offer coffee, hot chocolate and popcorn.

Aylor told The Nugget that the project of getting the tree this year was much easier than last year.

"It was a smaller tree," he said.

Aylor added that the skid road that ran by the tree made access much easier than it had been in previous years.

Cutting down a large Christmas tree like this one is a delicate process according to Aylor. It is not like cutting down a normal tree.

"You can't cut this tree and let it drop," Aylor said. "You run the risk of breaking the limbs and that's the whole idea - keep the limbs on it - like any Christmas tree."

Aylor explained that the tree has to be picked up once it's cut and then kept in the air. The tree is then carefully laid on a cradle that has been built on the bed of the trailer that will transport the tree.

"You can't just lay it down on the trailer, because trees that large weigh too much, and the limbs will break. So you have to build a cradle on top of your trailer to keep the tree up four or five feet," Aylor said.

Sherry Berrin, Land Steward Assistant, and Sarah Mowry, Outreach Coordinator from the Deschutes Basin Land Trust attended the tree- cutting to help the team find the correct tree, answer questions and help in any way possible.

Mowry said "They did a great job." She said that Aylor always does a wonderful job of getting the tree without going off the road too far or damaging any other trees.

Jeri Buckmann and Jeanne Nolander of the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce were also present. Aylor brought his father Joel Aylor, Rob Moss and Neil Hartford to help him with the project.

Sisters Public Works Director Gary Frazee and his crew of city workers were also on hand to be of assistance.

The tree-cutting event was a carefully choreographed production. One person operated the crane truck that lifted the tree. Another person cut the tree, while the others assisted on the ground with tools and straps and everything that was necessary to insure that the tree was safely cut down and moved onto the cradle.

After placing the tree on the the custom-made cradle, the team immediately transported it to Barclay Park where it was lifted at the top and moved to rest in the large container that serves as its base. Frazee and his crew immediately went to work adding the rocks and stringing the lines that are attached to the Gallery Restaurant and the park's public restrooms to stabilize the tree.