A Norway Spruce from Wisconsin is gracing Irwin Park. It’s the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District’s third attempt at replacing a 20-year old fir that was blown over in the windstorm in March 2016.
A Norway Spruce from Wisconsin is gracing Irwin Park.
Irwin Park was planted
at the end of July. (Photo
by Eric Crump/H-F
Chronicle)
It’s the Homewood-Flossmoor Park District’s third attempt at replacing a 20-year old fir that was blown over in the windstorm in March 2016.
The beautiful tree served the community for many years as the Christmas tree for the annual Holiday Lights celebration. It was replaced by a tree donated by Carol Loreth. That 20-year-old tree was dug up from the front yard of her Homewood home.
Unfortunately, the tree made it through one Christmas season and died.
A replacement tree for Loreth’s spruce came from a nursery. That tree too failed to adapt to the Irwin Park surroundings.
Doug Boehm, superintendent of parks and planning, said after the second tree died, soil borings were done to learn what changes might be needed to avoid rejection, but the test results came back normal.
The $5,000 spruce was under warranty, so this third tree didn’t require another expenditure by the park district.
