The Community Tree

For years as their annual gift to the community the Rotary Club erected a tree at the Municipal building for the holidays. The club would string lights and every evening during the holiday season the tree would be lit up. On November 30, 1931 town council granted the Rotary Club permission to plant a permanent tree at the Municipal building. Council stipulated that the tree to be planted would have to be suitable for a community Christmas tree and meet the approval of the council body. The tree will be of the evergreen variety and is to be planted under the supervision of the property committee of borough council. For reasons unknown a tree was not purchased at this time. On April 7, 1934 Rotary Club president Allan Watts and secretary Paul Noftsker purchased a 12-year-old 18-foot Norway spruce from a nursery near Harrisburg. Nursery experts planted the tree on May 16. At the time experts stated that it will not show much growth for the first year after transplanting, but that beginning with the second year it should grow from 12 to 18 inches a year, until it reaches its normal size and height. On Wednesday December 12, 1934 the Rotary Club decorated the tree. That evening the electric was turned on and the tree was lit for the first time.

The Rotary Club remained in charge of decorating the tree until 1945. In 1945 Marcus Engle began decorating the tree with stringers and lights supplied by the borough. On one occasion Mr. Engle trimmed the top of the tree to keep it under control. In 1965 Marcus turned the job over to the Vigilant Hose Company. They have been doing the job ever since.

In 1972 the community faced the possibility of not having a community Christmas tree. Glenn Bitner, chairman of the Christmas decorating committee stated that the company is becoming hard pressed to cover expenses. In 1971 the company paid out $130 just to cover the replacement bulbs. In addition he stated that the tree has grown out of control. Standing at nearly 50 feet in height it is no longer easy to decorate. The stringers used ran in length from 50 to 80 feet and have been in use since 1945. He stated that they are not sufficient to properly decorate the tree and that last year the bottom of the tree was left untouched.

Shippensburg Borough Manager Walter K. Smith gave the go-ahead to trim the top of the tree down to a more workable level this year. Dewalt’s Tree and Lawn Service of Orrstown agreed to trim the tree at no costs if the Vigilant’s provide some assistance. With the tree trimmed the only remaining obstacle was the expense. It took 250 25-watt bulbs to decorate the tree each year. According to company chief Charles Myers, “Every year some of the bulbs burn out and get broken”, “and being out in the weather takes the coloring right off the bulbs”. Theft also played a large role. Two years ago vandals made off with a large number of bulbs. Just in time for the approaching holiday season Democratic state senate candidate Bob Oravetz presented the company with $100 for the Christmas tree lights fund. The funds were raised by Oravetz friends and neighbors who sold a special Oravetz for State Senator mug for the purpose of assisting the company’s tree fund.

Again in 1985 trouble plagued the community tree. The old wiring in the Vigilant fire house was unable to handle the extra load anymore. For one year the tree sat dark while the company worked with the borough to fix the problem. This was the only time in the trees history that it did not brighten the holiday season. By 1986 the problem was corrected and the tree was once again decorated.

On Thursday July 12, 2001 Allen Tree Service, Shippensburg began removing limbs from the bottom up at 7 a.m. When they were finished a few hours later only a 12-foot stump remained of what hours earlier was a 40-foot spruce. Andy Gettig, a company trustee, said the board had been considering replacing the tree for years. The tree had been in bad shape, limbs have been breaking off and the tree was leaning towards the street. With the tree removed it marked the end of a 66-year tradition. For most people the lighting of the community tree marked the beginning of the holiday season.

A new tree was to be planted shortly after the old one was removed but the dry weather made it hard to find a tree as large as the company wanted. Matt Hammaker a company member now living in North Carolina learned of the situation through his parents. Matt owns a plant brokering business; in late September 2001 he made arrangements with a Pennsylvania nursery to purchase a tree. Matt’s only request was that the tree be dedicated to the emergency workers and victims of the September 11 terrorists’ attacks. Vigilant volunteers Ken Nehf Sr. and Ken Nehf Jr. traveled to Pikes Peak nursery in Pine Run, Pa. to pick up the tree. On November 10, 2001 company members dug a three-foot hole and planted the 12-foot blue spruce.

On Saturday December 1 the company decorated the tree with a red white and blue ribbon and lights. As part of Dickens Days “Santa Clause” (Jerry Cramer) plugged the tree in for the first time. In 2002 the lights returned to the traditional multi-colored bulbs.

In late March 2003 Vigilant fire chief Greg Coy came up with the idea of using the community tree as a living tribute to the military troops on duty in the Middle East. Fire company members placed a red, white and blue ribbon on the top of the tree to support all of the military troops. Yellow bows were then put on the tree bearing the names of the individuals from the Shippensburg area serving over seas. The first two ribbons on the tree will honor two of the Vigilant’s own, Lisa Marie Wright and Ian Armstrong. By April 16 at least 20 yellow bows were attached to the tree. By early July four or five of the bows had been removed from the tree by returning veterans. On Saturday August 2 Ian Armstrong returned home and along with his mother Gloria McPherson claimed one of the first two bows to be placed on the tree.

Only one major incident occurred on this date and that was posted last year. I intended to post photos from the Vigilant Hose decorating this year but did not have time to get them ready. The above story was written in September 2003.