For some, Debbie Sheldrake’s Christmas tree adorned with ornaments and lights brings a simple smile when they stumble upon it near the sand.
For others, the tree has deeper meaning. It’s a place to connect with those who are gone.
When Sheldrake started putting up an evergreen at Calafia Beach in San Clemente eight years ago, she never envisioned that her small act would become something so embraced by the town she loves so much.
“I just wanted to do something for the community,” she said on a recent day along the quiet stretch of beach south of the pier. “I can’t believe what it’s turned into.”
Sheldrake, who grew up in San Clemente, said she got the idea when she lived for a short time near the Rincon surf spot near Ventura about 15 years ago. She and her daughter planted a tiny tree there one year during the holidays. It was only big enough to hold two ornaments.
As the tree grew, so did community interest: Locals brought ornaments to decorate it each year.
After moving back to San Clemente, Sheldrake hauled a tree during the cloak of night down to the sand at Calafia Beach.
She put a few ornaments on it to get it started, just a few bulbs from a dollar store. Then she posted on social media letting people know about the tree and encouraging them to bring ornaments. Decorations soon started popping up.
In the early years, she placed the tree between rocks lining the sand .
“It was private, it was super local,” she said.
Two years ago, state officials hauled the tree away, citing safety concerns.
“This is when they took it off the beach as trash,” she said, showing a picture of the tree locked behind gates.
Sometimes, the tree disappears before Christmas. Sheldrake at one point vowed to call it quits; it was too much trouble.
She has had tough times financially. For two decades, she worked as a house cleaner, and to make ends meet, she collects sea glass and creates jewelry. And those trees aren’t cheap – about $80.
“It was pretty hard for me,” Sheldrake said.
But then people started asking when the tree was going up, and she realized how much it meant to the community. The past two years, she’s simply taken care of the tree, and others have stepped up to donate to the cost.
This year, to try to appease State Parks officials, she moved the tree up near the train tracks, a bike lock and zip ties securing it to a sign. “I think people on the train might enjoy it,” she said.
For locals, it’s a special place.
“This is where we stand to check out the surf. These are our friends who have passed away who used to surf here,” she said of the names written on the cement ledge where the tree stands.
On a recent day, nearly 200 ornaments glistened on the tree. There are simple colorful bulbs and fun ones, such as a peace sign and a wine glass ornament. Others send a message, like an American flag tucked among the twigs. Some have a beach theme: There’s one in the shape of a sailboat.
Others are more heartfelt: a pair of angel wings and a heart, with the words “In Loving Memory.” Photos of a smiling Saylor Voris, a San Clemente teen who died of cancer last year, adorn the tree, left there by her parents, who want to share her legacy.
One woman on social media called Sheldrake a “real live angel,” writing that her loved one’s ashes were at Calafia and the tree was important to her family when they visit.
Despite San Clemente’s recent growth, its small-town closeness remains, Sheldrake said.
Someone this year brought a tiny sand snowman, with a carrot stick as a nose and buttons forming a face, to keep the tree company.
On the years no one takes the tree, Sheldrake makes sure to take it down before New Year’s Eve.
“I don’t want any hooligans lighting it on fire or creating havoc, so it comes down,” she said. “It’s pretty brown by then and it’s time to go.”
Contact the writer: lconnelly@scng.com
