Edgecomb Eddy School fourth graders Isabel Wallace (left) and Llireva Blagdon stand beside the tree their class decorated as part of the town’s Charlie Brown Christmas tree tradition. “It was fun, but a little crazy” to work on the tree as a class, said Blagdon. (Molly Rains photo)
On the evening of Friday, Dec. 13, a uniquely Edgecomb tradition changed hands.
The night marked the first time the town’s annual Charlie Brown Christmas tree event, which has run for eight years, was held at Edgecomb Eddy School rather than the town office.
Handing off the tradition to the “next generation,” represented by the school, is a fitting end to the yearlong celebration of Edgecomb’s 250th anniversary, said event co-founder, committee member, and former select board Chair Mike Smith to a crowd of Edgecomb Eddy School students, parents, and town residents gathered on the school’s dark lawn that night.
Then, at Smith’s signal, a student volunteer plugged in strings of twinkling lights to set the array of glittering Christmas trees outside the school aglow. Each tree was decorated by a different Edgecomb Eddy School class, and students excitedly brought their parents to see their trees, pointing out the ornaments they had contributed.
The Charlie Brown Christmas tree event was dreamed up in 2015, in part as a way to bring holiday cheer to the Edgecomb town office, according to Smith.
“The whole thought was to give color and light to a building that deserves color and light,” he said.
But there was another goal behind the celebration, too: to create holiday magic for Edgecomb’s children and, in doing so, help make the town feel even more like home. One goal outlined in Edgecomb’s comprehensive plan, Smith said, was to encourage children raised locally to return to the area and, as adults, remain involved in their community.
By creating traditions like the Charlie Brown tree event, Smith said, the economic development committee had hoped to “instill volunteerism and community spirit” in Edgecomb’s young residents.
Young Edgecombians present for the tree lighting on Dec. 13 confirmed they had been excited to participate in the tradition.
“It was so fun,” said fourth grade Edgecomb Eddy School student Isabel Wallace.
“It was fun, but a little crazy,” agreed classmate Llireva Blagdon.
The fourth grade tree was decorated with felt flowers, which the students made themselves, according to Wallace and Blagdon.
Fifth graders went with a winter theme, hand-crafting snow globe ornaments to adorn their tree, said classmates Logan Barter and Henry Emerson. As a tree topper, the students chose a handmade gnome – and finished with green fuzzy hair.
While this year’s trees were all decorated by Edgecomb Eddy students, during the early days of the event, organizations from across the community were invited to participate, according to Janet Blevins, an original member of the event’s committee. The event got its name because the trees used for the event were “scraggly” ones sourced from people’s yards, she said.
In this way and more, the tradition has always been a humble one.
“We weren’t competing with the highfalutin activities in the harbor,” she said.
While the tradition remains modest, given that this year’s trees were decidedly unscraggly, the Charlie Brown name became more of a nod to tradition. Smith purchased the lot of evergreens from Edgecomb’s Green Acre Christmas Tree Farm, where owner Cindy Hill, who also donated the town office tree, provided the trees at a discount.
“It was a pleasure that I was included,” Hill said. “Anything to keep the children interested.”
Edgecomb Eddy School Principal Tom Landberg said he was pleased with the event turnout and optimistic about keeping some variety of holiday tradition active at the school going forward.
“We do hope to continue the tradition of a community event around the holidays,” he said.
After the tree lighting, Smith and the rest of the event committee served a pasta dinner to attendees.
Later, while washing dishes, Smith said events like this were important to strengthening the Edgecomb community.
According to Smith, a town with a strong core can trust its youth to return home eventually, even if they want to see the world first.
“Everyone talks about keeping the kids home,” he said. “Let them go away. If home’s good enough, they’ll come back.”
Gavin Wright (left), 10, and Winston Johnson, 4, both of Edgecomb, watch as a Charlie Brown Christmas tree is lit aglow outside Edgecomb Eddy School the evening of Friday, Dec. 13. Each class at the school decorated one of the trees, which were provided at a discount by Green Acre Christmas Tree Farm, of Edgecomb, and purchased by former Edgecomb Select Board Chair Mike Smith. (Molly Rains photo)
