Published: November 20, 2009 09:03 am      

Christmas tree's a comin'

Flatbad wrecker hauls 25-foot pine to Nibroc Park

By Becky Manley / Staff Writer

A chain saw, flatbed wrecker and backhoe aren’t the typical equipment required to setup a Christmas tree.

But that equipment — and plenty of people — were needed Thursday to cut down, transport and set-up an about 25-foot tall pine tree in Nibroc Park.

Workers were readying the park for downtown Corbin’s Christmas Open House which will be held 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday.

It is the second time the tree — believed to be a blue spruce — will be the centerpiece of a holiday celebration.

Nineteen years ago, the Hall family of Corbin bought the tree for Christmas, according to Sherry Hall, 44.

Since the tree included its rootball, it kept toppling over so Sherry Hall said it was moved to her youngest son’s — Austin “Bubba” Hall’s — playpen to keep it corralled.

After the Hall family — including the dad, Harold Hall and other son Michael “Rufus” Hall — finished celebrating the holidays, the tree was planted in their yard along U.S. 25 South.

“We didn’t realize it would get that big,” Sherry Hall said.

As the tree grew, its proximity to the house became worrisome, Sherry Hall said. The solution to the problem was suggested by a co-worker who saw the tree and told Sherry Hall she should donate it to the City of Corbin.

The Hall family took the co-worker’s advice and, when Sherry Hall left for work Thursday, she said her yard was filled with people and heavy equipment as they prepared to cut and move the tree.

It took about two hours to cut down the tree, according to Gary Kelly, assistant director of Corbin Public Works. Once the tree was transported to Nibroc Park — a slow process that garnered its fair share of gawkers — it took about that much time again to remove the tree from the flatbed and erect it.

Sherry Hall, who said her yard now looks “empty,” said she’s sure she will visit the tree once its decorated.

“I’d like to see it when it’s all lit up,” Sherry Hall said.