The piñon that stood in front of the Douglas County Courthouse since 1965 is no more after it was flattened by 16 inches of snow over the weekend.
Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.
The Nevada native that stood sentinel in front of the historic Douglas County Courthouse was laid low by the New Year’s Eve storm.
The planting of the piñon pine in front of the courthouse made front page news on June 10, 1965, when it was placed “for sentimental reasons” in the center law of the courthouse after its south wing was added the year before.
“The little pine nut is one of a number of trees, shrubs, and flowering bushes planted at the courthouse last week by Arlington Nursery of Reno under the personal supervision of Jac Shaw,” the newspaper reported.
When it was planted, the tree was only 3 feet high. That December “A Charlie Brown Christmas” was aired for the first time.
That prompted R-C scribe Roberta McConnell to refer to it as “Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree” for years.
In 2014, The Record-Courier reported on a suggestion to have the tree removed because it blocked the view of the courthouse.
Resident Frank Dressel fought to keep the tree while he worked for the assessor’s office
The effort was successful then and the tree survived another half dozen years.
But 16 inches of heavy wet Sierra cement was sufficient to crush it over the weekend and by lunchtime it had already been cut up and mulched;.
“I guess Mother Nature had the final say,” said Dressel said on Tuesday. “It sure was a beauty.”
Piñon pines were officially listed as Nevada’s state tree in 1953. It was joined by the bristlecone pine in 1987.
