Really, the story is wonderful and a bit long so I won't go into the whole thing but this tree lived for 95+ years in the backyard of a house near the Oneonta Country Club. I saw it literally everyday when I worked at the Soccer Hall of Fame because the tree and the house were at the end of Browne Street, the street the Hall was on. The tree was beginning to worry the homeowners and the neighbors when big wind storms blew and they were talking about having it taken down, then miraculously one day a knock on their door and it was the tree guy from Rockefeller center asking if he could look at the tree and see if it was right for the Christmas tree!!
OMG! He came several times to fertilize it during the summer and then, in early November the crew started getting the tree ready to be cut and moved. I have lots of pics of that that as I went over every day to record the progress, it took about 8 days and then one day huge cranes were brought in and the next day it was cut and lifted over the garage onto a flat bed truck, and tied down tightly- this took awhile as they needed to make sure it would fit under all bridges, etc. on the route 170 miles south to RC and then it was off.
I miss not seeing it each day, but knew that after it was unveiled with more then 50,000 lights, literally millions of folks would see it. And was I right! When we went to NYC to see the tree it was the Tuesday after Christmas, and unseasonably warm- the place was wall to wall people from all ethnicities, all classes and races, it was unbelievably packed, and yet full of joy! Everyone wanted to get near the tree, take their pics with it and generally enjoy the feeling of holiday spirit in the whole area. The Saks window/outside building display was awesome and the music was just perfect for the festive feeling.
I was sad to see the tree get cut down, but since the family was planning on it anyway, I'm so grateful it was chosen to be THE Christmas tree! After it is taken down it will be cut into lumber and donated to Habitat for Humanity housing - how great is that!
It has been a huge pleasure to tell folks that the tree is from our home town and I will cherish this trip to NYC the most for having the opportunity to see it being loved by thousands that night. AMAZING
