In December 2020, a storm rolled through Mason and resulted in the destruction of a town landmark – an old, windy white ash tree that stood on the doorstep of the Pickity Place restaurant.
The tree, along with the Pickity Place cottage, have special significance to longtime residents of Mason. It made for such a picturesque setting that it was immortalized by Mason author and illustrator Elizabeth Orton Jones, known about town as “Twig,” in the 1948 version of “Little Red Riding Hood,” published by Little Golden Books.
The tree had been failing long before more than half of the trunk sheared off in that winter storm, but it was so well-known and loved that owner Keith Grimes attempted to keep it standing as long as possible. When nature took that decision out of his hands, he said he knew that what did remain of the tree needed to find new life.
This month, that new life has been fully realized, as the tall trunk has been hollowed out to become a little free library – carved and decorated with loving detail and many homages to the property by Mason artist Tom LeComte.
Grimes said the idea to turn the trunk into a library came when he saw a picture of a similar piece online. He began looking for a woodworking artist to take on the project. He knew it would be a significant one, he said, and was willing to bring in the right artist, even if they were from somewhere else in the country. But he said he found the right fit nearly in his own backyard when a friend recommended LeComte.
“It’s much more than I thought it was going to be. It’s so good that people think we built it – they ask what we did with the tree. I say, ‘That is the tree,’” Grimes said. “He just went beyond what we thought it was gong to be. I don’t think there’s anything else like it.”
LeComte, who owns Laurel Hill Studio in Mason, graduated from Holy Cross with a degree in studio art, but said for most of his life, he went in a different direction, and had a desk job for 10 years.
When he was recommended to Grimes off the strength of his woodcarving and chainsaw art, he said the project was the most-ambitious he’d ever taken on, but he was intrigued.
“I decided to jump in head-first,” LeComte said.
Many of the small details of the library are references to either Pickity Place or “Little Red Riding Hood.”
Atop the roof which sits at the height of the stump – designed to emulate Pickity Place’s storybook cottage look – is a monarch butterfly, and another butterfly has a prominent place as the handles for the cabinet that houses the library.
“When I think of Pickity Place, I think of birds and bees and butterflies,” said LeComte, referencing the restaurant’s attached herb and flower garden. The monarch that tops the piece is made of stained glass – as is an inset inside the hollowed tree. That glass tableau shows Pickity Place, as it once was, with the tree intact, as it appears in “Little Red Riding Hood.”
“Any chance I have to throw color around, I’ll take it. And orange is one of my favorites, so a monarch fit,” LeComte said.
But stained glass wasn’t a medium he had much experience with. However, his grandfather had done stained-glass artwork, and it was something LeComte had been wanting to try, so both pieces were done learning on the fly, he said.
“I bought the equipment and just YouTubed it,” LeComte said. “I thought ‘Why hire that out? Just figure it out and do it.’”
The rear of the cabinet is covered with a silhouette of a wolf.
Around the doors to the library, LeComte used the same designs featured on the “Little Red Riding Hood” cover, as well as carvings of herbs, which the restaurant is known for using in its dishes. When asked what herbs he should carve, Grimes told him to go with the classics immortalized in the 1966 Simon & Garfunkel album of the same name – “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme.”
LeComte also added roses, to symbolize love, and basil and lavender.
“Pickity Place is about love and appreciation, and having a good time and reflecting on good memories. That’s why so many people keep returning to it year after year,” LeComte said.
That made taking on a project that would have such a place of prominence in front of the restaurant daunting, but an honor, LeComte said.
“It’s such a unique, special project, and I was given pretty much carte blanche to make it as special as possible. I appreciate the fact that I was given the opportunity to create something that people will appreciate and hold dear to their hearts,” LeComte said.
“It saddens me that the tree came down, but I’m just glad the legacy gets to live on,” Grimes said.
Grimes has already made a start at filling the shelves, mostly with herbal cookbooks pulled from his own office. And, of course, given a special place of honor on a shelf made from a natural wood slab is a copy of Jones’ “Little Red Riding Hood.”
He said he’s encouraging people to use it as its intended purpose – a take-a-book, leave-a-book style library. The books inside are donated by community members, and there is no need to pay for them or return them.
And the wood that was recovered after removing the rotted portions will be an ongoing project for future woodworking projects. Grimes said he plans to have items such as cutting boards made from the wood, which will be sold to the public. It’s not only a way for people to take home a piece of Pickity Place, but Grimes said he would like some portion of the proceeds to go to a charity, yet to be determined.
“It’s a ‘Giving Tree,’” joked Grimes, referencing another classic children’s book, by Shel Silverstein.
Grimes said touches like the library added to the already-picturesque Pickity Place gardens are what will keep people coming back again and again.
“I think it’s going to be fun, and it’s just going to add one more thing to the experience of being here,” Grimes said.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172, Ext. 244, or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.