East Side blue spruce becomes Youngstown's Christmas tree
Marty Martin, an employee of Diamond Steel Construction Co., secures the blue spruce onto a flatbed to be hauled away. Martin has been involved in the cutting and transporting of Youngstown’s Christmas tree for 28 years and dons a Santa hat each time.
Rubey and Donna Taylor watch as a large blue spruce is cut from the yard of their home on Clay Street on Youngstown’s East Side on Wednesday. They donated the tree to the city to be used as the city Christmas tree. Donna Taylor said she was excited and blessed to have her tree selected for the honor.
YOUNGSTOWN
Donna Taylor of Clay Street considers her blue spruce tree, now 30 feet tall, a “gift from God.”
That’s why she agreed to have it taken from her property to be the city’s official Christmas tree.
“I want to bless somebody else” who’ll be able to see the tree, Taylor said. “I wanted to donate the tree to help bring the community together.”
The tree was cut Wednesday at her property on the East Side by city park and recreation commission employees with the assistance of Diamond Steel Construction Co. of Boardman. The company transported the tree on a flatbed truck and put it up on Central Square in the heart of downtown.
Taylor, a Delphi retiree, moved to the city’s East Side from Warren four years ago.
She plans to bring her five grandchildren downtown to see the tree.
Each year, the city selects the downtown Christmas tree based on the advice of David Sturtz, the city’s forester, said Jason Whitehead, director of the city’s park and recreation commission and the mayor’s chief of staff.
“We go around and find a tree,” Whitehead said. “We’re looking for a large, full pine. We’re looking for a large, healthy tree.”
The city spent about $5,000 for new Christmas tree decorations this year, said Lyndsey Hughes, Youngstown’s downtown director of special events and special projects.
The tree will be lit Dec. 4 after the 2010 Holiday Parade, sponsored by the city and First Night Youngstown.
The parade steps off from Andrews Avenue and East Federal Street at 3 p.m. The parade proceeds west on East Federal Street to Central Square.
Youngstown State University President Cynthia E. Anderson will be the parade’s grand marshal, and Madonna Chism Pinkard of 21 WFMJ-TV will return as the mistress of ceremonies.
After being dormant for about 20 years, the parade returned last year with 56 participants and a crowd of 700 to 1,000.
“It’s definitely a tradition we want to bring back,” Hughes said. “We got a lot of positive responses from people to last year’s parade.”
The parade began in the 1940s and attracted 50,000 to 60,000 annually in the mid-50s, according to Vindicator files.
The city already has about 40 participants signed up for the Dec. 4 parade.
Those wanting to participate in the free parade are asked to call Hughes at 330-742-8710 or e-mail her at lhughes@cityofyoungstownoh.com for a registration form.