Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Tiny tree greets the Jolly Old Elf
WEST GROVE » People who stopped by to see the tree lighting ceremony and the arrival of Santa Claus on Thursday were asking, “So where’s the tree?”
After they looked around at the location where the in-ground tree has been standing for years, they saw a much smaller version of the former, closer to the ground and regaled with lights ready to be turned on. One girl shouted sarcastically from a group of high school students, “That’s the big- gest tree I’ve ever seen.”
When West Grove Mayor Steve Black showed up to lead the singing and oversee the lighting, he said, “It’s not the Christmas tree. It’s the Christmas bush. It’s as tall as I am and about the same width.”
The story, as Public Works Manager Tim Nichols tells it, is this: Last April or so, the former tree had grown so tall that it was interfering with the wires overhead. Then, to make matters worse, someone had planted tall, ornamental grass next to it, and it caught fire, burning one side of the tree.
So they decided to cut it down and plant a new one. After the switch had been thrown, Black led the crowd of about 100 in holiday songs, and then Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus arrived via a West Grove fire truck to greet the children. In former years, they led the crowd to the community room of the library, where they listened to requests. This year, their fans joined them at the Garage Youth and Community Center on Rose Hill Road, where the young members prepared food and decorations for the evening event.