Sprucing up the John Hancock Building

Mundelein couple donates towering tannenbaum to Salvation Army

MUNDELEIN -- For the past 21 years, a blue spruce has withstood the elements on the front lawn of Barbara and Fred Ekins' house. Originally about as tall as the peaked roof on their single-story home, the tree eventually climbed to more than 40 feet, dwarfing pretty much everything on Wellington Avenue.

And then it was discovered.

"A tree scout came by and dropped off a letter one day about a month ago," Fred Ekins said Thursday. "It said they were looking for trees for the John Hancock Building Christmas display and (asked) if we'd be interested."

Yes, they would, though not after some thought.

"It's bittersweet," Barbara Ekins said as crews from Brickman landscaping in Chicago blocked off Wellington and put a crane in place to lift the 4,000-pound giant. "It's always been there, but it's gotten so big that we were thinking it had to come down."

It came down so it can go up this weekend in advance of the Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign Tree of Lights Ceremony, slated for Dec. 19 at the John Hancock Center Plaza, 875 N. Michigan Ave.

Brickman account manager Keith Altena said the tree was simply too good a candidate to pass by, not only for its height, but because it would be easy to take down without taking down anything else.

"This is my fourth year picking out trees (for the Hancock display), and basically over the last couple of years, we've had a list of possible trees that we've drawn up," Altena said. "I started driving around neighborhoods until I'd see a real nice one."

Altena said the qualifications for the Hancock Center's tree call for something 30 to 55 feet tall "that is full all the way around." Perhaps more importantly, it has to be in a spot without power lines, trees or other obstacles that would complicate removal.

Thursday's operation unfolded in rapid order once the crane and a flatbed truck were in place. Ramon Rodriguez climbed up a ladder and into the heart of the evergreen to attach a steel cable, and then the tree -- which had its branches bound inward earlier this week -- was set upon by Diego Molgas with a roaring chainsaw.

"Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh," said Barbara Ekins when the saw had cut all the way through the 18-inch trunk and the tree was suddenly floating above the street. The crane slowly swung it over to the flatbed and laid it down, with workers strapping everything in place for the trip down to Chicago.

"The largest one we've had was over 10,000 pounds," said Valentine Montero of Round Lake, who has helped deliver the Hancock tree for the last 17 years. "The hardest part is the transportation, which is why we always do it at night. We'll drive it down Friday, and we'll start putting it up at midnight."

Altena said permits are in place for Michigan Avenue to be shut down briefly during the delivery, and the process of putting the tree up and decorating it takes about eight hours.

The Ekins' front yard, meanwhile, was immediately provided with a three-flower maple, which will turn red, orange and gold next fall. As for this Christmas season, the Ekins plan to head down the Tri-State to see their departed family member.

"We never did decorate it for Christmas," Barbara said. "But we're going downtown and we'll finally see it decorated."