Early last fall an ash tree in Decorah was trimmed quite drastically, leaving many scars along the trunk.
At about that same time the Cedar Rapids Gazette ran a feature article on knitters in Iowa City who were knitting tree sweaters to dress up the trees on a Mall in that city.
That gave Irma Johnson of 909 Ridgewood Drive, Apartment #4 an idea. She and her neighbor, both long time knitters, decided to knit a sweater for the tree.
Says Irma, "Both of us had large stashes of yarn leftover from previous projects. We measured the diameter of the tree, figured out a gauge for number of stitches and began knitting colorful stripes in many colors. After we had about ten feet done a helpful daughter climbed a ladder and attached the completed project to the tree trunk."
The tree sweater has been a subject of much conversation among those who live in the Assisted Living Complex next door. Johnson says she's even seen many cars stop to have a closer look as they drive by.