Something quintessentially OB, the annual planting in the beach of the crooked Christmas tree mirroring the beach community’s quirky bent, will take place this year on Tuesday, Dec. 3.

Every year turning the corner into December, a crane is used to transplant a huge pine tree from somewhere in the area to the beach near the pier. It all goes down with police escorting the truck carrying the tree through the community to the foot of Newport Avenue, where a sleeve, or manhole in the sand, has been uncovered and cleaned out especially for it.

Once the tree is settled and placed into the sleeve, it’s time to put the electrical wiring in place and add the lights, topping it with a star.

The tree’s shining moment this year, as every year, will be its lighting at 5:05 p.m. kicking off the annual Ocean Beach Holiday Parade, this year themed “Hippie Holiday Hoedown,” with more than 10,000 attendees drawn to partake in the festivities on Saturday, Dec. 7.

ORIGIN OF OB’S TREE

In the fall of 1980, brothers Ron and Rich of the local James Gang printers family were having a few beers at the Sunshine Company Saloon when they began talking about what could be done to continue the positive community spirit for the upcoming Christmas holidays. Rich mentioned the famous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center in New York City and thought maybe OB could have its own community Christmas tree. As the story goes, and as the James brothers talked – and drank more – the proposed tree grew from 20- to 60-feet tall.

The next morning Rich began making phone calls to find out how someone could get a 60-foot tree. He finally found the people that supplied Disneyland with their giant Christmas tree and made an order. A committee was formed and money was  raised to pay for the tree and the lights by mainly selling commemorative T-shirts.

To save cost, Rich talked a friend into taking his semi truck to Mt. Shasta to pick up the tree, and they returned to Ocean Beach with a stunning 70-foot Star Pine to grace the beach at the foot of Newport Avenue.

A few days after the tree had arrived, Rich went to numerous bars up and down Newport and handed out kazoos to his many friends. They then assembled in front of Pacific Shores, where Rich led them down the middle of the street to the tree, while they hummed Christmas carols on their kazoos, and a Christmas tradition was born.