A towering blue spruce tree was hoisted into place Wednesday morning as it began its run as the 2014 community Christmas tree for Galion. Galion Electric Line Company employees transported the tree from its home on Rosewood Drive to downtown Galion before putting it on display.
Joe Kleinknecht, president of the Galion-Crestline Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Coming Home to Galion Committee, said the tree was donated by Tim and Amy Mayer of Rosewood Drive in Galion.
Kleinknecht said that each year, Galion residents volunteer for their trees to be used as the community Christmas tree. Once the list of possible trees has been gathered, members of the Coming Home to Galion committee visit the sites where each tree is growing. Besides just looking at the appearance of the trees, Kleinknecht said that location must also be taken into account, as the equipment necessary to take down and transport the tree is very large.
“We did have a couple of really nice ones to choose from this year,” Kleinknecht said.
The tree will be decorated by city employees with the lighting of the tree serving as the culmination of the Coming Home to Galion festivities on Dec. 6. The event also includes ice carvers, food, an appearance by Santa and a parade that starts at 4 p.m.
