Remembering Dick Kelson

Last December I had the opportunity to meet Dick Kelson, a happy man full of smiles who each year donated a huge Christmas tree to the city of Bonners Ferry.

Kelson was the owner of North Idaho Tree Farm located south of Bonners Ferry.

Now this story was long overdue and I was grateful to Stephen Boorman, Bonners Ferry city administrator, who brought Kelson’s generosity to my attention.

I was happy to be the one to tell the story of this man’s  selflessness, hard work, and amazing efforts to bring Christmas spirit to downtown Bonners Ferry for 20 years.

When I met him, he hugged me as if he knew me for years and said how happy he was that I was going to  interview him. I remember it was one of the coldest days of the year; his kindness and excitement warmed my heart.

Kelson went on to tell me bringing the tree downtown was one of his favorite things to do. He looked forward to it each year. He would pick out a tree, usually more than 20 feet tall, usually in the range of 10,000 pounds and almost always a blue spruce. 

Kelson said if he were to sell a tree of this weight, he could ask $1,200 for it, but was always happy to give it to the city.

“It takes 20 years to grow a tree this size,” Kelson proudly told me of  last year’s blue spruce as it was being unloaded near city hall.

As the two of us watched city crews take over the removing of the tree from Kelson’s trailer he told me how he got it there.

He explained after he chose the right tree, this man not large in stature, a senior citizen, would cut the tree down, load it onto his tractor trailer and drive it from his tree farm at the south end of town, to downtown.

Now understand that as he was telling me this, I was watching about five large city workers hydraulically unload the tree and place it in its reserved spot on the south end of the Kootenai River bridge.

Seventy-seven years old, Kelson laughed a little and nodded yes when I asked, “It took all these young men to get it out of the truck and one of you to get it in?”

I found Kelson to be a delightful, friendly, giving man who really enjoyed his part in decorating downtown Bonners Ferry at Christmas time.

The news of his tragic death in May of this year was heartbreaking and not something I was eager to report. I ended up having a colleague cover it.  It is never easy to report an accidental death, but this one hit me hard.

All I could think about was our nice visit and the happy smiles he would bring when he came in to see us at the Herald. It was so refreshing to see his enthusiasm.

He would come by and see me from time to time for months after the story, so he just wasn’t a story subject.  Whenever he came by he brightened my day.

When I heard that the city will be dedicating the Christmas tree now standing in Georgia Mae Plaza in Kelson’s name, I thought it is a wonderful way to honor his memory.

The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 17, in Georgia Mae Plaza. I am very grateful to the wonderful people of Bonners Ferry and Kelson’s family who recognized the significance of this dedication.

What would be really nice to see is a tree permanently planted for Kelson, maybe the powers that be can think about that for next year.

The 20 years of Christmas tradition Kelson brought to Bonners Ferry will go on in history and he has left a beautiful holiday legacy for his family and our little town.