New Community Christmas tree, planted across from Hudson’s

A crew from Hazeltine Nurseries on Wednesday donated and installed a Christmas tree across the street from Hudson’s Grocery, to replace the tree that was killed by the duo hurricanes Helene and Milton.

The original tree dated from 1954, when Nell Kuhl dug up a tree from the Community House grounds and had it moved to where it stood at the Seaboard Railway Station. It stood tall until 2022, when Hurricane Ian struck.

In 2023, it was replaced with a black olive or buttonwood tree, in Latin a Terminalia buceras, known for its hardiness. While many of the variety survived the recent hurricanes, it was knocked over, and did not recover.

The tree has been a project of the Boca Grande Woman’s Club. This year, because of uncertainty about the tree, the actual tree lighting will be held Dec. 8 in front of The Gasparilla Inn. (See story here.)

The original tree was dedicated to the “Spirit of Christmas” and presented to the community by the Boca Grande Woman’s Club.