Removed Daytona Beach Pine Finds New Life

After an unsuccessful attempt to give away a tree in his front yard as a living Christmas tree, a Daytona Beach-area resident has had to remove the 22-foot Norfolk pine planted near his Ormond Parkway home.

“You see a beautiful tree like that and it’s sad to see it go,” Bob Cox, 64, told the Daytona Beach News-Journal Dec. 29. The tree has been on the property since 1959, but a contractor told Cox that it would need to be removed in order to avoid damage to the home’s patio and front walkway.

Cox, who used to work as a builder, originally said he wished he could just keep it in place. “This thing is a luscious green,” he told the News-Journal Dec. 5. When it became clear that wasn’t an option, he put out a plea for an organization with more property to adopt the pine as a rooted Christmas tree.

Although several people showed interest in saving the tree, Cox said one woman who inspected it determined that it would be nearly impossible to keep the roots intact during the transplantation process. On Dec. 29, Cox and his son were forced to remove the tree.

“First thing you have to do is check with the town ordinance to make sure you need permits or not to remove a tree that large,” says Jake Elvebo, Owner of Extreme Enterprises. “After needed permits are secured, the tree is cut down and the homeowner decides whether to keep the wood or have the removal company haul it away. Most times logs are left behind for the neighbors and stuff like that, its usually a coin toss on what the homeowner decides.”

New Use, New Life

But one of the calls Cox received has offered him consolation. A woodworker named Allen Cole said he could turn the pine into several pieces of art — including a wooden vase he has promised to create for Cox’s granddaughter.

“I thought, ‘I can make something out of that,’” Cole said. “I’m glad I could salvage some of it, anyway.” Cole has been practicing woodworking for more than 50 years, and holds membership in the American Wood Turning Association.

And on his property, Cox has replaced the pine with five palm trees. Moreover, he said that the process has illustrated a bittersweet life lesson: “Sooner or later, we will all be replaced,” he said.