A crane lifted a nearly 50-foot Norway spruce out of a Campton Hills front yard on Monday morning, Nov. 2, and set it on a flatbed bound for downtown Chicago. The tree began 22 years ago as a 6-inch sapling handed to a family at a funeral. It is now the city’s 113th official Christmas tree.
The Clark family of Kane County donated it. Amanda Clark, who spoke for the family, told NBC Chicago that her husband’s grandfather died in November 2004 and that the funeral home gave the family a sapling as a remembrance. Her husband planted it.
A Funeral Gift That Stayed in the Ground
According to NBC Chicago, the sapling was about 6 inches tall when it came home. It stayed where it was planted for more than 22 years, and Clark said the tree “has grown quite large over the years.”
The Chicago Tribune describes the donors as Mandy Clark and her family. Clark told NBC Chicago that the family did not want to simply cut the spruce down once it outgrew the yard. Instead, she said, they went looking for a way to “celebrate its life and legacy.”…