Do you know how much a vintage No. 16, 4-brace, No Problem Tree Stand, by Gunnard is worth?
Let me tell you all about it.
This Christmas tree stand is made of heavy-duty galvanized steel, guaranteed to last an entire lifetime, and it is the foundation of all the Christmas traditions I have with my husband, Chris.
The first year that we shared a Christmas tree together is the year that this, made in the USA, vintage tree stand entered my life. We excitedly went shopping for all of the lights and ornaments that would adorn the tree, but we still needed a reliable tree stand.
I had wanted to run out to the nearest hardware store and purchase a new, and sleek, modern, easy to use Christmas tree stand, but Chris wouldn’t even think of it. Just a week prior, he had salvaged a Gunnard, No Problem Tree Stand, from his mother’s garbage pile, and he couldn’t wait to use it.
I had heard all about the tree stand from my in-laws as it was described with colourful words. I think it was a relief when it had finally ended up in the trash heap to be replaced by something a little bit more modern.
Chris (my boyfriend at the time) had minimal opinion about the way the house was decorated for the holidays, and I couldn’t believe that he insisted on using this old “thing.” Still, to Chris, it was a tradition, and he was willing to hold onto it.
There was only one rule to installing the tree stand – you MUST curse while doing so. This is the way that it had been for as long as Chris could remember, and the way he intended to keep it. Fondly, he recounted his memories of erecting the yearly tree, the family bonding time created by the tree stand and all of the choice words that would go along with it.
Each year I repeatedly heard the stories about the struggles to get the tree installed in Chris’ family, taking one person to hold the tree while the other fidgeted with the 4 adjustable braces around the trunk.
Part of bringing the tree stand into our home also meant adopting the same struggles. As the years passed, Chris simmered his frustrations, and our techniques improved. Chris would make the fresh cut in the garage, get the tree in the stand while balancing it on a workbench, and slowly with time, the traditional cursing became more obligatory than deemed necessary. There would be cheering when he got the tree installed, and I’d give him a pat on the back. Last year, I remember him bursting through the garage door to exclaim, “I didn’t even NEED to swear!”
The tree dance begins, Chris shimmies under the tree and delicately loosens two of the four braces while I hold the tree steady. Once the adjustments are made, I stand back to critique the job done and conclude by resuming my tree holding position with new directions. Over and over, this waltz continues until I don’t dare ask for the tree to be adjusted again.
Last year was the final time for this ritualistic dance together. Shortly after we celebrated our first Christmas in our new home, Chris was diagnosed with cancer and is not here to participate in the Christmas tree this year.
I am finding new rituals as I prepare for Christmas with my children by my side. My father-in-law, Greg, is a volunteer with the Lion’s Club International, working at their fundraising tree lot. He offered to deliver a tree to me, just as he did the first year Chris and I had gotten a tree together. Even more generously, he asked me to dig out our tree stand, and he would bring it fully installed, ready to go.
When Greg made this offer, he was unaware of the tree stand that we are using in this house. Once he found out, he even tried to buy me a new one, but I wouldn’t allow it.
I think about Chris, and I imagine him laughing at the thought of his father once again installing, this tossed away tree stand at my persistence, and he is laughing so hard it makes me laugh. Chris was a jokester, and more often than not, it was not his joke I was smiling at, but I was laughing for how hard he was laughing at himself.
As promised, I had one less thing to worry about this year when a tree was delivered to my door complete in the stand. I hope there were a few curse words thrown around by all who participated in fitting the stand to the bottom of my tree. Curing is part of the tradition, after all.
We moved that Christmas tree stand all over the United States and back to Canada. I have come to love the stand, it’s original box and all the memories it has created. I love that Chris associated it with Christmas, I love that now I associate it with Christmas and I love that it is supporting the Christmas tree standing in my living room window right now.
It has taken me all these years to recognize the value in this tree stand, I guess I’m finally in agreeance with Chris, “they just don’t make them like they used to.” You can purchase a 4 Brace, No Problem Tree Stand, that lasts a lifetime off of eBay for about $70, but to me, the cherished value of this tree stand is so much more.
These are the memories that you will carry on and pass on to your three beautiful children