There sure is a lot of construction going on in the Triple Cities. More specifically in the Johnson City area. Just look up in the air for the huge cranes.

The Oakdale Mall is undergoing a major facelift as it segues to the Oakdale Commons. While several malls across the country are failing, ours is entering a new, exciting life.

Who would have thought 20 years ago that we'd see the decline of the seemingly indestructible mall? Thanks to online shopping, that unthinkable scenario has become a reality for many malls.

In addition to the major construction at the Oakdale Commons, UHS is in the midst of a huge construction project at Wilson Hospital in Johnson City. If you are anywhere close to the downtown area, you can't miss this towering addition being constructed.

As a resident of the village, I've been watching the progress, and it's amazing to see how much has been done from the first shovel of dirt to where the project is today.

But apparently, I don't notice everything as my wife will tell you. That is until the other day when we passed the construction site, and I noticed a tree perched on the top floor.

Constr Tree
Don Morgan
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I asked my wife if she noticed it as well, and of course when knew exactly why it was there. I thought that maybe the construction workers had simply misjudged when the Christmas Season is.

Nope. My wife explained the reason, and of course, I just had to do some research as to why there is a tree on top of the Wilson construction site. If you know, just bear with me for I'm sure not everyone does. I didn't.

According to the website Chron:

In the world of construction, it's customary to place a tree (sometimes even a Christmas tree) at the top of building when it is being topped out or once the highest peak is completed. - Chron

Basically, it's kind of like a good luck charm for the remainder of the construction project to go well. And Chron notes that this is a long standing tradition dating back to when Viking chieftains topped their houses with evergreen to celebrate the end of construction.

But is that the true reason? Chron goes on to explain another possibility:

Native American construction workers, believing that no man-made structure should be taller than a tree, putting a tree at the top of a project in an effort to satisfy the spirits of the forest.

So there you go. You learned something new. Or at least I did.

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