Late Wednesday night, when most Barrington residents lay asleep in their beds, a grinch slunk to the town beach and lit the Barrington Beach Christmas tree on fire. 

The Barrington Lions Club put up the tree — it is officially called the Barrington Beach Tree — on Saturday morning, Dec. 10. Cat Horn, a Lions club member, said she was very disappointed when she discovered the vandalism. 

“This (tree) had such a good positive feeling,” Horn said. “I feel terrible that it’s gone up in flames.”

Horn said Barrington Lions Club members had left a bucket near the tree filled with shells with strings attached to them. There was a second bucket filled with markers. People who had stopped by the beach to take a walk would often write a short message on a shell and hang it on a branch. 

“Hope.”

“Give.”

“Merry Christmas.”

On Monday morning, the tree was covered in snow.

“The overwhelming majority of it is positive: Peace, love and happiness,” Horn said. “A lot of couples would write their names and the year.”

Horn said Lions Club members stop by the tree every few days to replenish the supply of shells. She said some people use the decorations as tributes or remembrances. 

“It was just a nice thing that the Lions Club did to contribute to the community,” she said.

This is the second year for the Barrington Beach Tree. Horn said she got the idea online; communities in New Jersey had put up beach trees strung with lights and store-made decorations. Horn said she believed a beach tree in Barrington would be a nice addition during the holidays. 

Horn said some of the trees in New Jersey were “ginormous.” 

“I was going for a concept that was very New England, and very natural,” she said. 

This year, the Barrington Lions Club got its tree from a Lions Club in Narragansett which was selling Christmas trees as a fund-raiser. 

On Thursday morning, Dec. 15, Horn said the club was hoping to find a replacement tree for the beach by the end of the day. They did not have to wait that long — by 1:30 a Barrington resident had delivered a new beach tree.

“Our community is amazing,” Horn wrote in a text.