November/December 2015 | 25
T
hanks to Davey, a young boy's dream to
become a pirate and sail the seas in a tree
house-shaped pirate ship came true.
Davey partnered with Liberty Construction
Services through the Make-A-Wish
®
Foundation
to grant Ethan, a six-year-old boy from
Massachusetts, a tree house in which he and
his brother, Lucas, could play pirates together.
Ethan, who was previously diagnosed with
complex congenital heart disease, has trouble
breathing. Because he deals with severe fatigue,
the tree house structure needed to meet certain
physical requirements.
Before the detailed tree house plans could
become a reality, Liberty Construction Services
called Davey to examine the trees within
Ethan's family's property.
Natascha Batchelor, district manager at the
Cape Cod R/C office, then visited Ethan's
house to examine the trees. Batchelor discovered
a few white oak trees that needed to be
removed. She contacted her crew to voluntarily
complete the removal job.
"We ended up being in the right place at the
right time," Batchelor says. "The Davey crew-
members were thrilled to help out this little boy
and work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation."
Batchelor's tree removal crew, including
Trimmer Alfred Blackburn, Foreman Arthur
Pinckney and Trimmer Trainee John Craig,
removed a small white oak that otherwise
would be in the way of the pirate ship's future
rope bridge plan. Pinckney then worked with
Trimmer Reis LeBeau to design a large, maple
wood, round tic-tac-toe table.
Batchelor says Ethan wanted a tree house
just like one built on "Tree House Masters,"
a television show he frequently watches. His
wish came true when his finalized pirate ship
named, "The Wish Ship," was completed in less
than three months. The tree house was built
around two large white oak trees and includes
a captain's wheel, a slide, built-in binoculars, a
pirate flag and fisherman netting.
Batchelor joined Ethan—who was fittingly
dressed as a pirate—and his family and friends
at the Make-A-Wish Foundation's ribbon
cutting ceremony to reveal "The Wish Ship"
tree house. Her favorite memory from the
experience was "after they cut the ribbon,
when all the kids ran over to the slide and slid
down together."
"It's nice to do something that we are just
giving of our time to make a difference,"
Batchelor says. "We live and work in these
communities, so it's important to give back
to the community we not only live in but work
and thrive in as well."
Make-A-Wish for a Pirate Ship
The finished product of Ethan's dream
to have a pirate ship tree house.
Inset: Natascha Batchelor was
invited to Ethan's Make-A-Wish
ribbon cutting event to reveal his
tree house named "The Wish Ship,"
which Davey co-sponsored and
helped create. Ethan is pictured in a
black pirate costume with his mother.
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MyDavey Bulletin.
