Lobster trap Christmas tree brings joy, sadness and healing

In an area dubbed the lobster capital of Canada, where generations of families have made a living from the frigid waters of the Atlantic Ocean, it should come as no surprise the municipal Christmas tree in Barrington is fashioned from 188 salvaged lobster traps.

Erected a stone's throw from the causeway that links Cape Sable Island to the mainland in southwestern Nova Scotia, the pyramid of wire mesh, Christmas lights and tree brush is a nod the region's fishing tradition.

But what began as a bit of holiday fun by the Municipality of the District of Barrington in 2009, has turned into something more poignant.

Adorning the tree are buoys etched with the names of fisherman. Some are still heading out on the water.

Others are dead, taken by the sea.

Della Sears's son, Katlin Nickerson, is one of them. He and four others died on Feb 17, 2013, when their vessel, the Miss Ally, capsized after being smashed by a wall of water during a storm.

Each day on her way to work at a local restaurant in Barrington Passage, she passes the lobster trap tree.

"All our lives we were brought up that Christmas is about families. Part of it is gone. It just isn't right anymore," she said this week as she turned her son's buoy in her hand.

The buoy also includes the names of the others who were on board the Miss Ally: Joel Hopkins, Billy Jack Hatfield, Steven Cole Nickerson and Tyson Townsend.

"We do our best to remember them and to keep them in our lives everyday," Sears said. "I think about Katlin every day and his crew. And then you get a tree like this and you have so many families that's affected and communities come together. It's just heartwarming."

At last count, there were 70 buoys hanging from the tree. More have arrived since.

This week, eight-year-old Ashlyn Atkinson visited with a picture she had drawn of the tree as part of a class project at nearby Clark's Harbour Elementary School.

In her purple gloves, she clutched a photograph of herself with her grandfather, Jackie Nickerson, known to just about everyone simply as Captain Jack.

He died last month of an illness, but had been tied to the water for much of his life. He joined the fishery when he was in Grade 7, just a few years older than what his granddaughter is today. A red buoy with "Capt. Jack" marks his passing.

'If you shed a tear, that's OK'

Atkinson was accompanied by school teacher Christa Krafve. Her brother, Curtis Jones, and two other men were killed nearly 13 years ago when their ice-caked vessel capsized in the Bay of Fundy.

"It's a good reminder that there are happy thoughts and sad thoughts and mixed emotions," she said of the tree.

"It's a healing. It feels good to know there are other people who can understand where you're coming from. So if you shed a tear, that's OK. They're shedding one with you."

The tree has become a spot for both Christmas joy and sadness, and some tragedies are fresh.

One buoy is for Keith Stubbert, who died last month when he went overboard on the first day of lobster season.

In a cruel twist, he was on board the Cockawit Lady, a vessel captained by Todd Nickerson, Katlin Nickerson's father.

"It was horrid. It was a horrid day," said Sears. "I just pray that no other families have to join this club that we're in."