The perfect Christmas tree? Tom Leddy of Birch Lake liked the look of the giant pine tree near his Birch Drive mailbox. He thought it would make a perfect Christmas tree. But how does one get 1,000 LED lights on a 25-foot pine? Leddy and his neighbor and Christmas tree co-conspirator Daryl Popkes recruited Dennis Burton of Timmberr Tree Service to help out. So, instead of trimming branches, Burton was recently seen trimming a giant Christmas tree.
Although his neighbors questioned his sanity, Tom Leddy of Birch Lake has done something that will surely bring smiles to weary Gunflint Trail travelers this Christmas.
According to Daryl Popkes of Birch Lake, Leddy “made a personal connection” with a large pine tree growing near the cluster of Birch Lake mailboxes on the Trail.
Leddy asked Popkes, “Isn’t that the most perfect 25-foot Christmas tree?”
And, “Wouldn’t it be cool to light it up for Christmas?”
The neighbors, especially Daryl Popkes, were skeptical. To quote Popkes, “Ah yeah, Tom, great idea…”
In fact, Popkes sent a note reporting “Tom Leddy’s folly.”
There were good reasons for the skepticism. The tree is a quarter mile from the nearest electrical outlet. However, after talking about it for awhile, Popkes was sold on the idea and became a co-conspirator. He said, “Since the ‘Gunflint Guy’ specializes in crazy ideas, I figured out a solution.”
The huge Christmas tree stands along the side of the Gunflint Trail, far from any houses, a delightful surprise for travelers.
Leddy bought 1,000 LED Christmas lights and a 400-watt DC inverter. Another neighbor, Jack Carr, bought an Interstate deep cycle battery. After a relaxing dinner party in October, the Popkeses and the Carrs conducted a test, plugging the lights in and monitoring. The battery powered the strands for 14 hours—and counting.
But how to get the 1,000 lights on the 25-foot high tree? The Birch Lake friends recruited Dennis Burton of Timmberr Tree Service to bring his “cherry picker” bucket truck to help decorate the tree.
“And I am on the hook to swap out the battery daily throughout the month of December,” said Popkes with a grumble.
However, the ‘Gunflint Guy’s’ curmudgeon façade slipped a little when he sent this note to the Cook County News-Herald, sharing this entertaining holiday tale. We can only imagine the surprised motorists who will marvel at this huge Christmas tree in the middle of nowhere.
Popkes said, “It’s going to be an enchanting and surprising Christmas on the Gunflint Trail this year!”
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