Neighbors Carry on Tradition of Christmas Tree Lane

Seconds after Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich shouted, “Are you ready for the lights? Saturday night in Altadena, 8,000 red, white, green and blue bulbs responded, as if by celestial cue.

But the effect is pure illusion. In truth, four Boy Scouts hurriedly threw switches at electrical boxes lining the deodar cedar tunnel along Santa Rosa Avenue, better known this time of year as Christmas Tree Lane.

“We found out they wanted us to do it when we got here,” said Dominick Ursini, the leader of Troop 10. “And we said, ‘Oh, OK, sure.”’

That is not the only way in which the stunning simplicity of the moment of illumination--the 77th annual--belies the months of hard work behind the scenes.

Preparations began in May in Jan Jouanicot’s living room, where a devoted group of friends and associates--members of the nonprofit Christmas Tree Lane Assn.--tried out every bulb in jury-rigged testers before digging into their chile relleno casserole.

Jouanicot, a real estate agent, joined the association board of directors four years ago, a year after she unwittingly bought a home toward the bottom of “the lane.” The association was formed 40 years ago to carry on a tradition started in 1920 by Altadena resident Fred Nash.

“I didn’t know what I had gotten into!” Jouanicot said. “They put a flier on my door to come help put the lights up. I couldn’t that first year because I was living in plaster, my house was such a mess. But my husband helped with the [light] takedown in February and we went on the board after that.”

In July, many of the same crew returned to Jouanicot’s bungalow to build 50 lines that would replace those lost in last winter’s windstorms.

Throughout the year, fund-raising continued toward the $10,000 yearly goal for bulb and line replacement and a little professional help stringing them. (The 88,000 watts of electricity needed nightly is donated by the Edison Co.)

The search for money was kicked off by a community garage sale in Jouanicot’s driveway, continued with a mailing--”join us in the community spirit which the holiday season represents”--and culminated in a bazaar before the lighting Saturday, at which Jouanicot carried a new souvenir item: burned-out bulbs with certificates of authenticity at $4.50 a piece.

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These are not just any bulbs, but palm-sized industrial strength outdoor lights that have to be special-ordered from Taiwan, for 89 cents apiece new.

Lights did not get strung into the trees until the end of October--a week earlier than usual because of fears that El Nino would slow down the five-weekend process.

Running lines of lights up the trees like flags up a flagpole is not an easy job even without inclement weather, as 20-year-old ropes snap and metal clothesline pulleys jam.

“Pop! And the whole thing comes falling down in your face,” said volunteer foreman Francis Crunk. “It sounds like fireworks as you break about 30 to 40 dollars worth of bulbs.”

Crunk, a handyman by trade, also got involved in the event about four years ago when a tree--a pine, not a deodar--fell across his driveway on a morning when the crews were stringing lights. Since he couldn’t get his truck out, he wandered around the corner to check out the work.

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With his electrical and mechanical knowledge, Crunk was soon pinpointed by the former foreman, who was looking for a successor.

“He latched onto me . . . and before I noticed what was happening, he left me holding the bag,” Crunk said.

With his bushy Santa beard and dogged dedication, Crunk is hardly a Grinch.

But being foreman does mean showing up an hour before other workers to get ladders set up and bulbs laid out, then staying an hour late to clean up. It means testing and repairing the lights time and again as the big night approaches to ensure against unwelcome surprises.

When he switched them on one last time Thursday, he found a whole block out, its line severed during the recent high winds.

So he and co-worker Stephen Bailey spent five hours rewiring that section. Because the lines are so old and the connections so corroded, the work is always a combination of basic electrical know-how and trial and error.

“We wiggle them, we spread the prongs, we change a fuse . . . and sometimes it’s just that simple,” said Bailey, an aircraft mechanic. “Other times what seems like an easy job ends up with you rewiring a whole box.”

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The last-minute checks are so important, Crunk said, because the volunteers have invested so many hours into getting those lights ready.

It would have been unforgivable for them to gaze up at their handiwork Saturday night only to discover a black hole in the canopy of twinkling lights.

Crunk’s responsibility for this season’s display did not end Saturday.

At dusk every night until Jan. 2, he will drive his truck along the route, stopping to turn on the switches. He will set his alarm for 10 p.m., just in case he falls asleep, so he can turn them all off again.

With the weight of tradition heavy on them, the association members also are planning for the future, both near and distant.

Though not obvious to the casual observer, just 94 trees were lit this year, down from 104 last year after some of the aging deodars toppled during the January 1997 storms.

But here and there along the lane stand 37 baby deodars ranging from 20-foot saplings to foot-and-a-half seedlings, all adorned with smaller lights.

The association launched a major replanting effort four years ago, Jouanicot said, after deciding that “we wanted this to be around for our grandkids and our grandkids’ grandkids.”

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In fact, frustrated with the slow growth of nursery-bought trees, some of the association members are raising seedlings nurtured from the mature deodars in their backyards.

Crunk also hopes that the association can set aside enough money this year to begin replacing the worn-out pulleys with “indestructible” tuna boat models made of stainless steel, nylon and Teflon.

Unlike the nearby Rose Parade, where float-makers boast that they start designing next year’s floats the day after New Year’s, the Christmas Tree Lane Assn. will allow itself a monthlong breather once the light show is over for this season.

But come February, the unstringing begins, a job that sometimes drags on through April.

And then it will be about time to start testing bulbs again.