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Mid Hudson Times, Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Local Christmas Tree makes it to the Big Apple
A celebration of light and hope
set for Sunday at Downing Park
By JON SCHMITT
The 2015 edition of the world-famous Rockefeller
Center Christmas Tree, set to be lighted on national TV
tonight, has humble beginnings.
Until last month, the 78-foot Norway Spruce adorned
a quiet stretch of Route 44-55 in Gardiner. Now it’s been
decorated and set for the spotlight
“It’s so nice that the tree is coming from New York,”
said longtime Plattekill resident Ester Coppola as she
watched the tree get cut down on Nov. 4. “We don’t need
trees from New Jersey or Connecticut. We have plenty
right here.”
Coppola was just one of the many on-lookers who
shared such feelings. From behind the “Rockefeller
Center” marked crowd barriers, scores of community
members took turns exchanging cameras to take pictures with the 78-foot Norway Spruce as their backdrop.
They watched in awe as the Center’s head gardener, Erik
Pouze, with his crew of over 20, chain-sawed through
the base of the 10-ton tree with ease, and when the team
(with the help of a massive crane) finally manipulated
the tree safely upon the truck bed, the people swooped in
for more photos.
And to think the mighty tree had become something
of a nuisance for Albert Asendorf and Nancy Puchalski,
the homeowners who donated the Spruce.
“We were gonna knock it down,” said Asendorf following the cutting Wednesday, “then we thought somebody might want it.”
Little did he know that “somebody” would be a city of
over 8 million people.
The tree has been on the property since Albert’s
family moved into the home in 1957. At the time, he was
4 years old. The tree was 6 feet tall. Over the years, the
Asendorf family has grown alongside the tree.
But the Spruce, as sentimental as it may be, grew too
much. It was good for climbing, but a hindrance in many
other ways. The mighty limbs offered no view from the
living room windows of Albert and Nancy’s home; they
also threatened powerlines.
When the time came to make a decision, the family
heard through word-of-mouth about Rockefeller Center’s
acceptance of potential tree submissions. They sent in
In Brief
The Downing Park Planning Committee is hosting a celebration of light and hope on Sunday, Dec. 6
at 5:30 p.m. at the Downing Park Shelter House.
Through donations and gifts, electricity has been
installed on the roof of the shelter house at the park.
Both a Christmas tree and a menorah will be lit.
The event is open to the public.
City’s Distressed Property
Task Force to meet
Organizations and Departments in the City of
Newburgh working on distressed property issues
will report on initiatives on Wednesday, Dec. 9,.
The program, Distressed Property: A Progress
Report and Perspective on Newburgh Property
Initiatives, will take place at 7 p.m. at the Newburgh
Free Library, BOE Meeting Room, 124 Grand Street,
Newburgh.
This program is sponsored by the Distressed
Property Task Force.
Officer revives unconscious
woman
Rosanna Rossi
Workers at Rockefeller Center make last-minute preparations for Wednesday’s tree lighting.
the trees information, including the height, location and
a picture, and things got moving.
Pouze first visited Gardiner in the summer to see the
tree in person. He was immediately impressed, and so
began the regimen of care.
“I thought it was a great tree,” said Pouze following
the cutting. “So we started watering it, feeding it, and
making sure it was getting along.”
The final decision was made a few weeks before the
removal, but the Asendorfs were asked to keep mum.
Doing so became increasingly difficult after Rockefeller
Center hired local state troopers to monitor the tree since
previous trees have been the target of vandalism.
It’s safe to say that everyone in the community was
aroused by the occurrence to some degree. It was, after
all, a once-in-a-lifetime occasion - if that. In the end,
Albert himself seemed to be the only person wondering
what the fuss was all about. Among the swarm of reporters, he reaffirmed his emotional value of the Spruce, but
he also questioned the fuss that had just taken place.
The tree lighting will be televised by NBC on Dec. 2,
beginning at 8 p.m. The show will be hosted by Today
show members Al Roker, Savannah Guthrie, and Natalie
Morales and feature musical guests Sting, James Taylor
featuring Chris Botti, Mary J. Blige, The Band Perry,
Band of Merrymakers, and Andrea Bocelli. In person,
the live performances will be happening from 7-9 p.m.
at Rockefeller Plaza, between West 48th and West 51st
Streets and Fifth and Sixth Avenues
On November 29, 2 at approximately 9:45 pm,
Town of Newburgh Police responded to the Super 8
Motel for an unwanted party. Sgt. Joseph DeQuarto,
Officers Jason Monti, Jason Fitzsimmons and
Anthony Kuhn arrived on the scene. Upon arrival at
the motel