Alpena's Ice Tree

 If you happen to drive past Mich-E-Ke-Wis Park on State Avenue in Alpena this winter, you’re bound to notice Alpena’s Ice Tree. Towering at impressive three stories high, this colossal ice creation is the work of Alpena businessman Wayne Kowalski. Kowalski erected the first ice tree at Mich-E-Ke-Wis in the late 1980’s. Nearly twenty winters later, he is still working his frosty magic.

Kowalski’s chilly labor of love came about in 1988 as a result of his involvement with a group of community volunteers interested in reviving the old Alpena Winter Carnival. It was decided that the event would be staged at the Mich-E-Ke-Wis ice rink as it had been in the past. The committee thought that it would be appropriate to have some kind of ice structure to draw attention to the festival site. Kowalski volunteered to make an ice tree similar to one erected in the community of Gaylord. The Gaylord tree was created by fashioning a steel frame over which water would flow, freeze and eventually form a huge conical structure of ice. Kowalski contacted Alro Steel who volunteered to donate the steel and construct the frame. The 1988 winter carnival was very successful, but efforts to keep the carnival going as an annual event were not fruitful and the revival ended after just a few years.

Even though there was no longer a carnival, Kowalski continued to construct the ice tree every year. "There was one year in there that I didn’t do it and people asked why there was no ice tree," Kowalski said. "It made me realize that people do appreciate it." Kowalski typically puts the frame up in November and begins watering in November or December depending on the temperature, using anywhere between 130,000 to more than 460,000 gallons of water. The tree is usually formed within three weeks. Watering continues through roughly mid-February and then the gigantic ice form is left to survive on its own until warming temperatures take their toll.

Multi-colored lights illuminate the tree at night and visitors can pose in front of a sign in front of the tree that says, "Ice Tree – Alpena, Michigan." Kowalski’s idea behind the sign was to provide a photo opportunity so that people would stop and have their picture taken by it. The sign also provides an identity for what might otherwise be seen as a curious, monster-sized hunk of ice to uninitiated passers-by.

Kowalski says that he plans on continuing the ice tree every year for many winters to come. "I enjoy doing it and it’s something unusual that helps to draw attention to Alpena," he said. In addition to Alro Steel, several other businesses contribute their time and resources to make the tree happen each year. These include Alpena Power Company, Earth Tech, Standard Electric and Werth Electric. Don Maskell, an employee of Kowalski’s, also volunteers time every year to help with the tree.