Over 100 years ago, the tradition of the Kewanee downtown Christmas tree began, and for over a quarter of a century one man kept that tradition alive.
For Mark Mikenas, the executive director of the Kewanee Chamber of Commerce, the subject is a touchy one. He’s hesitant to talk about its demise. It all came to an end rather abruptly about eight years ago, in 2015, when city officials asked that he no longer put the Christmas tree up in the intersection at Tremont and Second streets. The reason given was “safety concerns,” Mikenas said, but he was offered little in the way of an explanation as to what those concerns were.
“I was trying to fulfill a tradition that had gone on for over 100 years,” he said.
Only recently has Mikenas begun to compile information on the tree. He has a few newspaper clippings and has started the process of delving into the downtown tree’s long history.
The first tree was placed at First and Tremont streets and stayed there for many years. That much he’s been able to confirm, although some of his research is still a work in progress.
“I kind of remember it being there when I was a kid,” said Mikenas.
After that the tree moved around a bit, and by the 1990s, it was on the move. In 1990, the idea was to put it up at Main and Second in the lot where Osco Drugs used to be, but Mikenas said the people responsible for putting up the tree weren’t exactly a fan of the heavy duty power lines they would be required to work around. Getting equipment in there posed yet another problem.
So in 1991, the tree stood at Main and Loomis, but that was another false start. That particular location was a wind tunnel and the tree couldn’t withstand the more gusty days.
“It didn’t make it to Christmas day,” said Mikenas.
In 1992 or thereabout, the tree made its return to Second and Tremont, where it had been located other years. That spot seemed to work best, although there were complaints from drivers about navigating through the intersection.
In spite of rumors that the tree located in that location caused accidents, Mikenas refutes that. Only in the first year did someone hit a guidewire while driving underneath it. It was simple enough to fix it.
“They simply moved up the guidewire. Lesson learned,” he said.
Another time, a guidewire attached to Breedlove’s Sporting Goods snapped, and the tree listed. A driver came too close to the tree and his vehicle brushed it, causing some minor damage that was buffed out.
Other than those two incidents, the tree caused no major problems, and when residents saw it erected there, usually the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, it meant the ushering in of Kewanee’s Christmas season.
The downtown trees, ranging anywhere from 25 to 40 feet, always came from within the city limits and were donated for the cause. All of the trees had issues with where they were planted and were destined to be cut down anyway, Mikenas said. Donating them saved property owners the time and expense of having them removed and hauled away.
There was one year in the 2010s that Mikenas, exhausted by the complaints of its location, decided against putting up a tree altogether. But then came the mail and in particular a letter from a group of high school girls appealing for the return of the tree and the tradition. The tree went back up the next year.
Over the years there have been some controversy surrounding the tree, and the Kewanee Hog Days website has forever immortalized the incident in a post “Swine on the Pine.” The tale begins 23 years ago, and the Hog Days page begins the story like this:
“A well-intended plan that put a life-sized plastic pig on top of a 40-foot Christmas tree in the heart of downtown Kewanee to brighten the spirits of holiday shoppers, went horribly wrong in November of 2000.”
Mikenas remembers at the time no one had even considered the possibility that the pig would raise such ire. The idea for the pig topper came from Chicago’s cows. Kewanee, he said, was known for pigs and of course, is known as the “Hog Capital of the World.”
“What better decoration in Kewanee than a pig?” Mikenas said.
Mikenas had the pink pig custom made so it could be attached to the pole. The Ameren crew showed up, and many of the crew members brought their kids to see the pig hoisted to the top of the tree.
The story went nationwide, hitting the wire service, after it was reported in the Star Courier, and even WQAD came to town to cover it. But it was doomed to remain up for only one day.
“By the next morning,” Mikenas said. “We got hit. Mike Berry called me.”
Berry was the editor of the Star Courier at the time and called Mikenas to let him know that the newspaper had been fielding angry calls about the inappropriateness of having a pig atop a religious symbol.
Even though there were more positive comments and feedback than negative, Mikenas said the group relented, and he called in the Ameren crew.
“Instead of causing a stir at the holiday, we took it down,” said Mikenas.
The following Saturday, Star Courier’s Dave Clarke wrapped up the controversy in his column, “One Pig Over the Line.” Clake wrote that he couldn’t “recall ever seeing people in Kewanee react so fast in such a negative way to anything.”
Mikenas still harbors hard feelings about that. He even keeps a clipping from the Peoria Journal Star of a tree in Delevan, Ill., that was placed in the middle of a downtown intersection and donned with a top hat.
In 2016, the downtown Christmas tree was relocated to Berrien Park and for Mikenas, that’s where the tradition came to an end. While he appreciates the donation from Steve and Janet Martin, of the very first tree placed there, it just never felt the same.
“I was ready to throw in the towel on it,” he said.
Mikenas said that some time later he was approached by Gwen Murphy. Murphy and her husband, Fred, offered to purchase a tree to plant in Berrien Park, one that wouldn’t need to be dug into the ground and staked each year.
The tree was transplanted in the park and every year is decorated with lights. There’s even a plaque there, he said, commemorating the generous gift.
But as nice as the tree is, Mikenas still longs for the return of the downtown tree.
“I don’t like that we don’t have it down there,” he said.
Even after eight years, Mikenas said if there was a movement to bring it back, he might be swayed to do it all again, although the local Ameren crew that had the operation down to a science are no longer around.
“If there was a chance, and I had some good volunteers, I might say yes,” he said.
