Palm-hugger wins

To Rachel Fallon, the huge palm tree in front of the house where she grew up is a touchstone to many fond memories.

But to her grandmother, it looks like an oversized telephone pole.

So when grandma called for the chain saws Monday, a sort of family feud erupted. Don’t worry, though, this tale has a happy ending.

The 65-year-old palm tree on the Balboa Peninsula that is ostensibly the tallest in the surrounding area owes its life to Rachel, who said she was willing to chain herself to the tree if necessary.

Armed with the resolve of a UC Berkeley student she defiantly stood up to a team of four men in a big-rig truck who had been sent by Peterson’s Tree Works on the orders of Angie Fallon to dispense with the palm. Rachel woke up early in the morning to stop them.

“I was at my house in the desert, and the tree service called me in the morning and told me, ‘Your granddaughter is hugging the tree. We can’t do anything,’” Angie said with a defeated tone.

She had already made all of the preparations to have the tree removed to make way for a larger table in her yard. She drilled bricks out of her patio, purchased the table and hired the tree service, but she made one mistake: underestimating her granddaughter’s connection to a fixture of her childhood.

When asked whether she had decided definitively to keep the tree, Angie sarcastically said, “I don’t have any say in the matter.”

Considering the incredible trouble Rachel took to save the tree, it’s easy to see where Angie gets her feeling of helplessness.

“I put up signs all around the house the night before the tree service was going to come telling them not to cut it down,” Rachel said, laughing, “but our handyman Vinny came and took them all off, so I woke up early in the morning and told the guys to leave.”

Angie said when she came home from the desert later that day, she was fuming and demanded an explanation.

“We had a civilized conversation,” Rachel said. “I basically got down on my knees and begged her not to cut the tree down. It has a lot of sentimental value to me. When I was in high school this patio was a hangout for us. My friends and I would sit here with the gorgeous palm tree.”

Angie has a slightly different view of the tree.

“It’s so tall that when I look out my living room window it looks like a telephone pole,” she said, still annoyed. “It’s not like it’s beautiful scenery.”

But Rachel is not the only one who feels strongly about the palm tree’s value. Neighbor Steve Moore said it is a landmark that is appreciated by everyone in the community.

“We told our three kids when they were running around the neighborhood to look for the palm tree if they got lost,” he said. “You can see it from all around. I’ve heard people tell renters in the area the same thing.”

Rachel eventually convinced her grandmother to let the tree stay and Vinny the handyman agreed to build a table around it with the tree as an umbrella, Angie said.

Where is the tallest palm tree in Newport-Mesa? E-mail dailypilot@latimes.com.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.