East Dorset Family Members Make ‘Boo’s Tree’ for MCL Display

From left, Annabelle, Sebastian and Nicole Mackson pose with their
recreation of Boo Radley’s tree for MCL’s celebration of Harper Lee,
the author of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’
The tree’s base was constructed of wire netting, stiff foam and wood, with half of a small container used to form the knot-hole. The Macksons then applied papier maché, first with newspaper, and then with torn-up paper bags. After completing the first steps of the tree, the Macksons began to procure the supplies needed for the rest of the tree and the objects found in the knot-hole, as described in ‘To Kill a Mockingbird.’ After they found all of the objects, the family painted the tree, then made branches adorned with leaves and acorns, attaching them with florists’ foam and hot glue. The Macksons added a faux robin in a nest and faux moss to the base of the tree to add a realistic touch.
The objects found in the tree were a jewelry box with two pennies inside, a pocket watch, a spelling bee medal, soap figurines of a boy and a girl, a pack and two pieces of Wrigley’s Double Mint gum, a tin knife, and length of twine.
The family procured every object with little to no difficulty, although they made the soap
figurines out of bee’s wax to make them more durable. The entire process of creating this magnificent tree took them about four days. The Library is extremely pleased with the results.