The recent article on trees in unlikely places stated that Robert Douglas had seen only one other vessel carrying a tree aloft at Christmas and that was on the Great Lakes.

For the 31 years my father, Stanley Poole, captained at WHOI, he cut two pitch pines from our Chilmark property to carry on the mastheads of two Oceanographic boats.

He was very proud to carry on an age-old tradition.

Do I recall that several of the steamers also carried trees years ago?

Harriette Poole Otteson
Chilmark