100 Years of Tree Tradition in Harbor Springs

Nov. 20, 2015

In the early 1900s, youthful contractor George B. Hartung decided to enhance Harbor Springs’ Christmas spirit by placing a freshly cut tree in the middle of town, transported from his home at Larks Lake. His fellow citizens embraced the event, with the village council making a unanimous decision to “lend its moral support to the idea of a municipal Christmas tree.” The first official tree lighting was held Dec. 24, 1915, on a chilly Christmas Eve in Zorn Park, with 2,000 people in attendance. “The Evening News” declared the event a “grand success and an event long to be remembered.”

Hartung’s grandchildren remember a kind, community-minded man who loved doing things for others, a man who never knew what he had begun with this festive gesture. The tree moved locations several times over the years, sitting for a time at the corner of Main and Spring streets and then finally being moved to its current Main Street location around 1921. What a location: framed by shops on both sides and fitted into a special stand directly in the middle of the street, the tree is also behind the Catholic church — a distinctive local landmark and gathering place.

This year, Harbor Springs is celebrating the 100-year anniversary of their community Christmas tree, an event to be marked by activities harkening back to old traditions.

“In reading some of the early newspaper accounts, many of the activities [between then and now] are surprisingly similar,” said Mary Cummings, executive director of both the Harbor Springs Area Historical Society and the Harbor Springs History Museum.

“In 1915, there was music provided by the town band along with caroling,” she continued. “The following year, the paper described a neat feature where the children from the west end of town gathered at the Catholic church and those from the east end gathered at the Methodist church. Promptly at 6:30pm, the band began playing carols and the two groups of students walked toward the center of town while singing, to meet at the Christmas tree.”

In later years, Harbor Springs’ movie house, The Lyric Theater (currently being restored in a new location), would offer a free movie after the tree lighting, with pots of hearty, spicy chili served up outdoors alongside hot beverages. Of course, Santa was — and still is — a regular guest.

This year’s centennial tree is a 40-foot spruce donated by Nub’s Nob Ski Resort; each year, a local family or business donates a tree and the City of Harbor Springs Electric Department cuts, hauls and sets it up.

Dennis Kurzel is Harbor Springs’ Electric Superintendent; he’s worked for the city for 25 years and has been an integral part of bringing the tree into town.

“We go out and cut the tree, then Walstrom Marine donates the use of one of their big boat trailers and we bring the tree into town horizontally, then we set it upright,” Kurzel explained. “In the early days, it was surrounded by big railroad ties at the bottom and rigged at the top.”

A wire or cable rigging was commonly used into the 1990s, until another long-time electric department employee, Dick Barkley, suggested something better.

“Dick noticed that the regularly-wicked winds of November would often topple the tree and either break the limbs or the cable,” Cummings said. “So he came up with the idea of manhole-meets-tree-stand.”

In the middle of Harbor Springs’ Main Street lies a manhole, and beneath that manhole is a culvert 5 feet deep, surrounded by concrete, Kurzel explained. It’s also wired for electricity, tidily underground. In late November, the manhole lid is removed and it magically becomes the tree stand. The tree has to be at least 35–40 feet in height, as 5 feet of the trunk will disappear into the manhole to ensure the tree stands sturdy.

“One year, the tree was just 30 feet and the townspeople complained,” Kurzel chuckled. “That year it was nicknamed the Charlie Brown tree.”

After the tree is decorated with 700–800 lights, the festivities begin and the tree itself becomes the subject of picturesque holiday photographs.

Today, the city’s tinkered very little with tradition. Christmas caroling, a visit from Santa Claus, hot beverages, chili and a proclamation from a local townsperson will all once again be integral parts of the tree lighting.

“We are really excited about marking the anniversary this year and we’re thrilled to have many of George Hartung’s grandchildren and great-grandchildren attending the event,” Cummings said.

The grandkids will hit the official switch to light the tree this year, an appropriate way to mark the start of a second century of this grand and heartwarming Harbor Springs tradition.

The 100th anniversary of the Harbor Springs Christmas tree lighting will take place Saturday, Nov. 28 with festivities beginning at 6:30pm. For more information, visit harborspringschamber.com.