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JERREY ROBERTS

This illuminated Christmas tree was installed Wednesday on the Connecticut River as a tribute to the late Russ Myette of Northampton, who floated a tree on the river every holiday season from 1976 to 1997.

HADLEY - People driving on the Calvin Coolidge Bridge after dark have been doing double-takes since a Christmas tree with 5,000 lights appeared Wednesday in the middle of the Connecticut River.

The spectacle revives a tradition started by Russ Myette of Northampton. From 1976 to 1997, his decorated trees on the river spread holiday cheer and drew national media attention. Myette died Oct. 13 after a seven-year battle with Lou Gehrig's disease. The new tree is a tribute to him.

"It brought tears to my eyes," said PVTA bus driver Philip Brocklesby, after he drove over the bridge Thursday morning and looked south and saw the tree. "It made me think of Russ and all the years he did that."

Actually, the new tree on the river isn't a tree at all. It's an anchored pontoon boat with cross-braces, a 20-foot-tall aluminum pole in the center and a generator to power the lights.

Its creators said it will be more durable than Myette's fir trees, which were vulnerable to strong winds, icebergs and floating logs.

Stealth project

The three friends who designed, constructed and launched the boat/tree wanted to keep their involvement a secret. But so many people knew about the project, with six local businesses donating materials, that by Thursday they were willing to accept responsibility.

"We've been living on the river for 20 years," said Michael Damon on Aqua Vitae Road in Hadley. "We were sitting around a month ago and thinking our kids are getting older, and decided this would be a neat thing to do."

His main associates were David Lamica, also of Aqua Vitae Road, and Gary Galvagni of Hatfield. They are all avid boaters and have mechanical backgrounds. All the people involved, who have expertise in welding, metal working, electronics, design and carpentry, will be having a private lighting ceremony tonight.

"We wanted to do it for the right reason," Damon said. "No one is going to get anything out of this. If you drive over the bridge and see this and it makes you feel a little better, it's done its job."

He said that none of the businesses involved is seeking publicity for their efforts.

"If people want to make a donation to the Toy Fund, that's great," he said. "It was not done for any other reason than a bunch of guys getting together. We had a blast putting it together."

Rigging it up

First, they worked it all out on paper. Then they got some old pontoons from a boat that was destroyed in a flood a few years ago and fixed all the leaks, Damon said. They put up cables to hold down the 20-foot pole. On Tuesday, four people spent five hours putting up the lights, using $30 worth of wire ties, he said.

"It wasn't just 'Let's float a tree on the river,'" Damon said.

They took the boat out of storage Tuesday and attached the generator to the back and carried it to the beach. On Wednesday, they dragged it to a good spot about 400 yards south of the bridge. Every evening around 4:30, Damon gets in a canoe and paddles out to the tree to add gas to the generator. As of Thursday, he was unsure how long the lights were staying lit before the generator runs out.

"There was no other reason for doing it than to make people happy," said Damon, 45. "It's not a religious thing. It's just something my kids always liked when they were younger."

Galvagni said he knew Myette. "It's a tribute to Russ and nice for everyone to look at," he said. "It looks as good as we had hoped, and it's a good feeling to do something for the community."

Lamica credited Damon with coming up with the idea. "It's really a spectacular thing on the river," he said.

The three friends plan to store the boat/tree after the holidays are over and bring it out again next December.

When they placed it in the river Wednesday, it quickly attracted attention. "It was really cool to see the eyes of some of people who saw it," Damon said. "We were concerned that it could cause an accident on the bridge, and we joked about who's going to be responsible for the lawsuit."