ST. PAUL -It took 50 years for the spruce tree in Mike and Ann Holland's yard to grow 60 feet tall.
As it turns out, all those decades were simply preparing the huge tree for it's turn in the holiday spotlight.
Wednesday morning, St. Paul city crews cut down the spruce the Hollands donated, loaded it on a 75 foot trailer, and moved it downtown to Rice Park. Once there, the tree was dropped into a 78,000 pound concrete anchor to hold it in place.
In the coming weeks, the city spruce will be decorated with 20,000 LED lights and ornaments. It will be ready for the official Rice Park tree lighting ceremony scheduled for November 28th and 5 p-m. The holiday tree will remain lit through the start of the New Year.
This marks the fourth year city residents have donated a large tree to help St. Paul capture the spirit of the holidays.
(Copyright 2009 by KARE, All Rights Reserved.)
