Pasadena Citizen - News
City tree replaced with wire
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| Thanks to the winds of Hurricane Ike in September, the city’s traditional Christmas tree on the grounds of City Hall will not be around for today’s ceremonial lighting. However, this wired-up tree is expected to stand in quite nicely. |
By YVETTE OROZCO
The Christmas season will officially light up in Pasadena tonight as the city holds its annual tree lighting ceremony, but something will be different.
The event has been a city holiday tradition for many years, and the cold weather, hot chocolate and music will still create the holiday buzz, but one member of this annual communitywide Christmas party will be missing.
The tradition revolved around the lighting of the city Christmas tree, but that tree is now mulch in a Pasadena waste lot.
While still tall, still green and still a highlight of the event, the new tree was put together, not planted.
The original Christmas tree was another victim of Hurricane Ike, which destroyed its tap root, the life-blood of the tree.
“That was the first thing I noticed when I came to see what the damage was at City Hall,” said Kirby Cardenas, interim parks and recreation director for the city. “If we could have stood it up, it would have been lit this year, but it was beyond use.”
The tree was leaning at a 30-degree angle and while Ike claimed many limbs from nearby oak trees, it was the only tree destroyed.
While the tree’s origins are somewhat of a mystery, Cardenas knows one thing – it had stood for a long time.
“I started working for the city in 1986 and have been around the city since 1945,” he said.
“During this time, as far back as I can remember, ever since there was a City Hall, that tree had been there.”
The City Hall building was built in 1962, but according to city councilwoman Jackie Welch, the 30-foot cedar tree may have preceded it.
“When City Hall was built, that tree was already there,” she said. “Apparently, it’s been there forever.”
The current tree is expected to be a temporary centerpiece during the holidays, put together piece by piece and held by wire on a 30-foot pole, but like any replica, it’s only a shadow of the real thing.
“It’s not the same,” said Cardenas.
The city plans to plant or transfer another tree in the empty space, but it will a few more years.
Although no one can put a definitive date or age on the city’s original Christmas tree, it became a part of the city’s landscape, lighting up many Christmas seasons.
The city will have its tree-lighting ceremony in spite of its loss, and although this year’s tree was manufactured, the Christmas spirit will be the real thing.
“We were not going to let Ike beat us,” said Cardenas.
Tree-lighting
What: The city of Pasadena’s annual tree-lighting ceremony.
When: 6 p.m. today
Where: City Hall, 1211 Southmore Ave.
Also there: A petting zoo, hay rides, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
Information: City Hall, 713-477-1511.
The event has been a city holiday tradition for many years, and the cold weather, hot chocolate and music will still create the holiday buzz, but one member of this annual communitywide Christmas party will be missing.
The tradition revolved around the lighting of the city Christmas tree, but that tree is now mulch in a Pasadena waste lot.
While still tall, still green and still a highlight of the event, the new tree was put together, not planted.
The original Christmas tree was another victim of Hurricane Ike, which destroyed its tap root, the life-blood of the tree.
“That was the first thing I noticed when I came to see what the damage was at City Hall,” said Kirby Cardenas, interim parks and recreation director for the city. “If we could have stood it up, it would have been lit this year, but it was beyond use.”
The tree was leaning at a 30-degree angle and while Ike claimed many limbs from nearby oak trees, it was the only tree destroyed.
While the tree’s origins are somewhat of a mystery, Cardenas knows one thing – it had stood for a long time.
“I started working for the city in 1986 and have been around the city since 1945,” he said.
“During this time, as far back as I can remember, ever since there was a City Hall, that tree had been there.”
The City Hall building was built in 1962, but according to city councilwoman Jackie Welch, the 30-foot cedar tree may have preceded it.
“When City Hall was built, that tree was already there,” she said. “Apparently, it’s been there forever.”
The current tree is expected to be a temporary centerpiece during the holidays, put together piece by piece and held by wire on a 30-foot pole, but like any replica, it’s only a shadow of the real thing.
“It’s not the same,” said Cardenas.
The city plans to plant or transfer another tree in the empty space, but it will a few more years.
Although no one can put a definitive date or age on the city’s original Christmas tree, it became a part of the city’s landscape, lighting up many Christmas seasons.
The city will have its tree-lighting ceremony in spite of its loss, and although this year’s tree was manufactured, the Christmas spirit will be the real thing.
“We were not going to let Ike beat us,” said Cardenas.
Tree-lighting
What: The city of Pasadena’s annual tree-lighting ceremony.
When: 6 p.m. today
Where: City Hall, 1211 Southmore Ave.
Also there: A petting zoo, hay rides, and Mr. and Mrs. Claus.
Information: City Hall, 713-477-1511.
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