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Description: Transcript of speech by Mayor Kenny Thomas given at the lighting of the Tumbleweed Tree on December 5, 1977
“The first tumbleweed Christmas tree, erected in 1957, started the tradition initiated by Mr. Earle Barnum. When the City’s Christmas decorations were destroyed by fire that year, necessity became the mother of invention and the Scouts and Civic clubs made decorations for the downtown streets out of cotton pods, and other natural plants, including the tumbleweed, gathered from the surrounding desert and fields.
Over the years feelings for tradition have overcome inflation and in 1975, $2,543.55 was spent on the tree. 273 manhours were used, including combined efforts of the Parks and Recreation and Public Works personnel who started a long time before Christmas spotting the fields for the very best tumbleweeds. (In choosing and gathering the tumbleweeds, consideration must be give to their size and shape in order to give proper taper to the tree.) The tree in 1975 was 40 feet high. To construct the 40-foot tree, eleven (11) 1/2 ton loads of tumbleweeds were hauled in.
About $400 was spent using special equipment time, such as the snorkel truck. To spray the tree with flame retardant cost $275; some $500 was spent for material to replace various supplies, i.e., light bulbs, wiring, etc. About 50 pounds of glitter and about 20 gallons of paint were used. In 1975, another 94 manhours were expended after vandalism to the tree occurred, making a total of 367 manhours.
The 1976 tree cost $3,777.98. It required 368 manhours; a 55-gallon drum of flame retardant and 40 pounds of glitter were used.
Anyone that lives for a length of time in a given community makes a contribution to that community. Some contributions are substantial…some are negligible…and, of course, there are always those whose contributions we can live without. Contributions aren’t necessarily always good.
A contribution which out lives the contributor is the mark of a great person. Many of the men and women in our early history fall in this category. They made contributions which lasted.
The Christmas tree which we are about to light hasn’t outlived its creator. He is still with us. But the chances are good it will eventually outlast all of us. The man from whose fertile brain the tumbleweed tree came is with us this evening. He and his wife travelled all the way from Pasadena, California to be here. May I present Mr. Earle Barnum.”
Catalog number: 1999.18.3.6
Gift of: Earle Barnum