November 29, 2021
The Tree
By Mary Schricker Gemberling
“O Christmas Tree
O Christmas Tree,
How Lovely are thy branches” – Ernst Anschutz
During this interim period between selling our house and buying another, our holidays will certainly be unfamiliar. One main difference is that we will not be decorating the 12 foot tree that has been a mainstay of our holiday decorations in our log home for the last 10 years. Just when I was lamenting the absence of our beautiful tree, I saw on the news that the most famous Christmas tree in the United States had been delivered and set up in Rockefeller Center, New York City. My curiosity once again got the best of me as I wondered how this particular tradition began?
It was 1931 during the Depression Era when the workers at Rockefeller center decorated a small 20 foot balsam fir with strings of cranberries, garlands of paper, and even a few tin cans on Christmas Eve. The workman pooled their money for that unlit tree, with the garlands made by their families. The tree was “from the beginning….a gathering place and reflection of what was happening in the world around them.” That humble celebration led to the first official tree two years later; a 50 foot tree dubbed “a holiday beacon for New Yorkers and visitors alike.” Since then, the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree has been a yearly tradition. World War II ushered in simple, patriotic decorations, including red, white and blue unlit globes and painted wooden stars. In 1942, instead of one large tree, three more modest trees were raised, each decorated in the colors of our flag.
From 1944 until the war’s end in 1945, the tree went unlit due to blackout regulations. After the war, the years of darkness were left behind, as six ultraviolet light projectors were installed to make it appear as though the tree’s 700 fluorescent globes were glowing in the dark. The 1949 tree was 75 feet tall, spray-painted silver, and covered with 7,500 pastel-colored lights. By the1950s, workers began using scaffolding to decorate the tree, as larger trees were accommodated. Before the decade was over, the decorating process called for 20 workers over nine days. The first time NBC televised the tree lighting was in 1951 on the Kate Smith Show. The 1971 tree, a 65-footer from East Montpelier, Vermont, was the first to be mulched and recycled. The mulch was used for the nature trails in upper Manhattan. Though the tree typically makes its journey on a truck bed, in 1998 it was flown in from Richfield, Ohio, on the world’s largest transport plane. Rockefeller Center’s tallest tree was a 100 foot spruce from Killingworth, Connecticut in 1999. In 2001, following the September 11 attacks, the tree was once again decorated in hues of red, white and blue.
In 2007 the tree went “green,” converting to energy-efficient lighting with LEDs. The LEDs use 1,200 fewer kilowatts of electricity per day. Also since 2007, each year after display, the tree has been milled into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity for use in house construction. This years tree, a 79-foot Norway Spruce, is the first from the state of Maryland. In the 90 year history the trees have most often come from Upstate New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania although trees have come from as far as Canada. The tree was cut on Thursday, November 11, and arrived on Saturday, the 13th. The annual lighting ceremony will take place Wednesday, December 1st. The decorated tree will be wrapped in 50,000 multi-colored LED lights on about five miles of wire and topped with a 900-lb Swarovski star, complete with 70 spikes. The three-dimensional star, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind in 2018 is adorned with 3 million crystals.
Who is responsible for finding this magnificent icon of Christmas cheer each year? Erik Pauze, the head gardener for Rockefeller Center, has for the past three decades been instrumental in scouting, nurturing and transporting the Norway Spruce. The tree must be at least 65 feet tall and 35 feet wide, but the preferred height is usually between 75 and 90 feet tall and proportionately wide. Most of the trees are Norway Spruces, but because this tree doesn’t typically grow to this height in the New York area most of the trees are cultivated in people’s yards. A helicopter flies over the multi-state area for potential candidates. Erik admits that typically the timeline for finding a tree is every day all year long, for this year and next year. What he looks for is, “a tree that you would want in your living room but on a grander scale. It’s got that nice, perfect shape all around. And most of all, it’s gotta look good for those kids who turn the corner at 30 Rock; it needs to instantly put a huge smile on their faces. It needs to evoke that feeling of happiness!” Erik says his favorite part of the job is the scouting process, as he gets to meet and connect with so many great people along the way, many of whom he continues to stay in touch with.
There is no monetary compensation offered for the tree. It is considered a donation and an honor to have the selected tree as the official Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. Erik remembers his parents taking him down to New York City as a young kid and the feeling he had when he saw the Tree. Every year for a few moments he gets to be a kid again when he feels the awe and excitement of his chosen Tree standing tall and bright for all to see!
“Christmas is not a time nor a season, but a state of mind.
To cherish peace and goodwill, to be plenteous in mercy,
is to have the real spirit of Christmas”
– Calvin Coolidge
Mary, a former educator and Seniors Real Estate Specialist is the author of four books: The West End Kid, Labor of Love; A Personal Journey through the World of Caregiving, Hotel Blackhawk; A Century of Elegance, Ebenezer Methodist Church; 150 years of Resiliency.
