Nothing is as quintessentially Ocean Beach as its left-leaning Christmas tree mirroring the quirky bent of the coastal community.

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.

“The tree comes from a home in OB, and this year we moved it down on Tuesday, Nov. 29, and put it in the ground,” said Corey Bruins, president of Ocean Beach Town Council, who added, “We’re excited because it’s going to be fun to get it all decorated, a process that starts around 7 a.m. and takes into the early afternoon.”

As usual, police escorted the truck carrying the tree through the community to the foot of Newport Avenue, where a sleeve, or manhole in the sand, had been uncovered and cleaned out, especially for it.
Once the tree was settled and placed into the sleeve, it was time to put the electrical wiring in place and add the lights, topping it with a star. Soon to follow were blown-up beach ball decorations hung on the tree.

Every year on a Saturday after the tree is planted, this year on Dec. 3, children from local schools will make their annual pilgrimage there to see Santa from 9 a.m. to noon. They will add their own hand-made ornaments to hang on the tree.

The Ocean Beach holiday season kicks off this year on the evening of Dec. 3 with one of the most beloved traditions in San Diego, the lighting of the Christmas tree on the beach at the foot of Newport Avenue. Now in its 43rd year, the tree’s shining moment, its lighting at 5:05 p.m. that night, ushers in the annual Ocean Beach Holiday Parade, this year themed “Jingle All The Waves,” with more than 10,000 attendees drawn to partake in the festivities.

Bruins pointed out that the Christmas tree planting ritual in OB dates back to the five James brothers – Ron, Rich, Greg, Mike, and Pat – whose family founded the James Gang Graphics company on Newport Avenue in 1976. They were the ones who brought down the first Christmas tree from Mt. Shasta.

“At some point, we started sourcing the tree locally,” noted Bruins adding, “We have trees already in the queue that need to be cut down because they’re in a dangerous position on their property, or have a root system that is tearing up the sidewalks. We’re always looking for local trees that are going to come down anyway, so as not to have to transport it far in order to keep the cost (of moving) down.”

ORIGIN OF THE OB CHRISTMAS TREE

Mike James, who currently is involved in Luminosity, a long-term project to find a viable high-tech alternative to launching Fourth of July fireworks from aging OB Pier, related the tale of how the community’s very first Newport Avenue Christmas tree got chosen to inaugurate the tree-planting tradition on Newport.

“One evening, in the fall of 1980, my brothers Ron and Rich were having a few beers at the Sunshine Company Saloon,” said James noting that earlier that year, Ocean Beach had its first community-supported Fourth of July Fireworks Festival. “The brothers began talking about what could be done to continue that positive community spirit for the upcoming Christmas holidays,” James said. “Rich mentioned the famous Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center (in New York City) and thought maybe OB could have its own community Christmas tree.”

Added James: “The story goes that at first, they talked about a 20-foot tall tree. Then, as more beer was consumed, the proposed tree grew, so by the end of the night it became a 60-foot tall tree.”

The next morning said James, continuing the narrative, “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 his friend Kenny into taking his semi truck to Mt. Shasta to pick up the tree,” said James. “They returned to Ocean Beach with a stunning 70-foot Star Pine to grace the beach at the foot of Newport Avenue.”

Which is almost – but not quite – the end of James’ story.

“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,” he said. “They then assembled in front of Pacific Shores, and Rich then led them down the middle of the street to the tree, while they hummed Christmas carols on their kazoos.”