Seattle’s Community Holliday Tree

Seattle's community Holliday Tree coordinated by Eric Greenberg, was lighted this year"our 16th" with help from Frank Du Frain, and Mike Pogo. Many thanks go out to Hal Champeness for lots of help with all the prep work along with his expert gift of keeping his balance stringing the the mini lights around the bottom of the tree!! Bartell Drugs supplied the lights agian this year. Additional funding and support came from the Matthew Clap, Jr. Endowment, City Club, Escala Condominium's, the Mayflower Park Hotel, and the city of Seattle. The 110 foot tall sequoia is located on the corner of 4th and Olive in downtown Seattle. To see a high res. image of the tree click here To veiw additional photos taken last year of Ness Cranes setting up, and the city Arborist, Nollan Rundquist 'in the orange vest' along with Frank Dufrain, going up to inspect the good health of the treeclick here

The lighting of this tree is a voluntary effort, infected by the desire that the child in all of us feel joy, and hope in the future.

Volunteerism is incredibly rewarding, and beneficial to us all. Perhaps this is the most important point. If each one of us were to find that place in them selves, then this world, our world, can benefit greatly.

Happy holidays to you all!

Contact:

Eric Greenberg

email: emap1@earthlink.net

About caring :

At the age of nine, I moved with my dad to the small town of Woodstock, N.Y. Woodstock in 1962 had become a Mecca for folk artists, poets, painters, and visionaries that were affecting the beat of a generation. Of coarse at the age of nine none of that mattered to me.

Growing up there however, had an effect on me. The magic that was being created within the community around me began to rub off. One might say that I was raised by a village. The belief that the world can be a better place became ingrained in me.

One of the highlights of the year was Christmas Eve. The village Green was transformed into a winter wonder land, the whole town gathered around the tree, and waited to see how Santa would show up that year. Sometimes the elf would arrive on a fire truck, other years on the back of an Elephant! Santa would sit on his throne, and give out stockings of candy and fruit to all us kids, as we each found our place upon his lap.

In the winter of 1990, I moved to Seattle, and took a job at a local print shop. I fell in love with a wonderful woman that I'm happy to say, I'm still together with today, and fell in love with Seattle as well. One of my favorite haunts became Oliver’s, at the Mayflower Hotel down town. While gazing through the windows that go from the floor up to the ceiling, I looked outside onto the square, and there was the most beautiful Sequoia tree. It had the same shape and feeling that the tree on the Woodstock Green had for me so many years before. Except this tree wasn't being decorated for the holidays

I had no idea at that moment, "The moment that I longed to see the tree lit", that I was about to embark on a journey that would extend onward at this point, 16 years. I was told that the tree used to be decorated, and acknowledged as Seattle's holiday tree for many years, but in the 2nd half of the eighties it was replaced as an icon by a cut tree tradition, at the newly completed westlake center, and park. By the time I became aware that no lights were being put on the tree it was the holiday season of 1991, and it had grown to a height of 60 ft. I was told that it was now too tall to decorate properly, and there wasn't enough power to light it. It didn't please me that this beautiful tree was to be neglected. It seamed the holidays were somehow moved to an other location, and the magic of this place, in the heart of the community was to remain dimmed for the holidays.

This was unacceptable to me, and I started to investigate how to go about resuming this tradition. Not having a clue where to start, or even how to go about such a task, I picked up the phone and started to call city departments. One call led to another, and before I knew it, I became the person responsible for decorating the tree.

Without the help, and caring of countless others though, none of this would ever have been possible. Volunteerism came to me as a surprise, and yet this has become, and is one of the most rewarding experiences that I have ever had. If anything, may this effort inspire others among us to pursue their dreams, and in doing so, help to create a more beautiful world for us all. Many come to me, and say thank you, and to those of you enjoy this message, I say THANK YOU!!!

And by the way, HAPPY HOLIDAY'S!!!

E.G.