18th Century Version, probably around Stafford County, Virginia:
George, said his father, do you know who killed that beautiful little cherry-tree yonder in the garden? This was a tough question; and George staggered under it for a moment; but quickly recovered himself: and looking at his father, with the sweet face of youth brightened with the inexpressible charm of all-conquering truth, he bravely cried out, “I can’t tell a lie, Pa; you know I can’t tell a lie. I did cut it with my hatchet.”–Run to my arms, you dearest boy, cried his father in transports, run to my arms; glad am I, George, that you killed my tree; for you have paid me for it a thousand fold. Such an act of heroism in my son, is more worth than a thousand trees, though blossomed with silver, and their fruits of purest gold.
21st Century Version, Trenton, NJ:
Trenton Mayor Eric Jackson presided over the official lighting of the city’s Christmas tree on the front steps of City Hall Friday evening.
The 35-foot Norway spruce did not travel far to become the City Hall’s official tree. It was cut down from Franklin Park and brought to City Hall on Nov. 18, said city spokesman Michael Walker.
Earlier this year the city reached out to residents in search of someone willing to donate an acceptable tree to the city, but the search was ultimately unsuccessful, so they turned to the city’s parks for a tree tall enough to fit the bill, Walker said.
For the second year running, the City of Trenton seems to have had problems with its official City Hall Christmas tree. And although in the grand scheme of things Trentonian this may be a fairly small matter, I offer it as a cautionary example of the damage that continues to be done – in our name – by those who govern this town.
Last Holiday Season, if you recall, in the last discontented winter of the Mack Administration, it looked for a while that a cash-strapped Trenton would do without a tree to grace the front steps on the State Street entrance of City Hall. However the Administration, blessed by City Council, used $450 in Federal Community Development funds to purchase a nice, 20-foot Norway spruce.
I didn’t think that this wasn’t a very productive use of a Federal grant, and suggested that members of Council should each pitch in a few bucks, instead. In the spirit of the Holidays, you know? Take a little of the burden off the taxpayer, you know? To put my money where my mouth was, I along with a few other Trentonians got the ball rolling by sending a few donations to the City.
The ball didn’t roll very far, as it turned out. To my knowledge not one member of Council made any effort to match our donations. In fact, one member actually got indignant at the very suggestion. Anyway, last year’s Christmas spirit was made possible by a generous grant of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. Ho, Ho, Ho!
This year, for its first Christmas, the Jackson Administration wanted to make sure they had a tree for City Hall. The Times quoted City Spokesperson Michael Walker as saying they looked for someone to donate a tree. That wasn’t successful, so they just cut one down from the city’s Franklin Park. With some ornaments, some lights, presto! Christmas spirit! The tree Lighting made for a nice photo opportunity, and the pictures that ran in the paper are awful pretty.
But now, the holiday season is over. After standing for a month, the tree started coming down yesterday. WPVI-6 got some footage and soundbites from the city crew working in the frigid temperatures we’ve been having. The nice photos will now go into a photo morgue and city archives. The tree will be off to an unknown fate, probably involving a wood chipper and the word “mulch.” About the only thing that will live on past this one month is the stump in the ground where a beautiful, living, healthy 35-foot publicly-owned piece of our outdoor heritage used to thrive.
A Christmas tree is a thing of beauty for a short while, but a stump is forever.
That’s why most people – at least the ones who live in houses on their own lot or property – end up buying their natural Christmas trees from vendors who get their trees from tree farms. Cutting down a tree on one’s own property isn’t something that can be sustained for very long, after all. Most people can easily grasp that fact. The City of Trenton can’t.
City trees, on public park property, should not be seen as a resource that can be harvested for purposes as fleeting or as temporary as a single holiday season. Call me naive, but I don’t think that Franklin Park, or any city Park, should be looked at as a tree farm.
Oddly enough, the Trenton City Code thinks the very same thing. Trenton’s City Ordinances has a lot to say about trees in this town, those that grown on private property as well as those that grow on Public Property. Chapter 287, in fact, is all about Trees. One of the things that our Ordinances insist upon is that trees on public property cannot be easily removed. Language in Section 4B, speaking about trees on Public Property, states that “no tree shall be removed prior to the posting of a notice that a public hearing may be requested to determine whether removal of the tree is necessary to protect the health, safety, or welfare of the residents of the City. [Emphasis mine – KM]” There’s other language that’s relevant, but that’s the key section.
The intent of the city’s laws is clear: trees are valuable, they are protected, and they are definitely not to be harvested for any reason but risk of imminent danger to the City’s residents. For sure, no exception is carved out to allow for use as an “official” Christmas tree.
The city Ordinance is serious about this. It provides that violations of its terms can result in pretty serious punishment. Namely, one or more of the following: a fine of up to $2,000; up to 90 days in the County Jail; and/or up to 90 days of Community Service.
Serious stuff. Definitely not, “Ho, Ho, Ho.” Very “No, No, No!”
So, how did the City choose to raid one of its own parks to cull a hardy Trenton survivor to provide a mere 4 weeks of Comfort & Joy?
I don’t know.
I tried to find out. I filed an Open Public Records Act request on December 8 to get information on the process that was used to select the tree. I specifically asked for documentation showing that the city complied with the requirements of Chapter 287. Like the parts mentioning “posting of a notice,” “hearings,” determining whether the proposed removal is “necessary to protect” Trentonians.
The City’s response came, after some delay, on New Year’s Eve. Perhaps I should not have buried the lede until now, but I am sure you won’t be surprised to read that the response I got from the City was – Nothing. Nada. Zip.
The City cannot tell me, or more likely will not tell me, how this tree was selected or harvested. The City can’t or won’t tell me who was approached to donate for the tree, as Mr. Walker told the press. The City can’t even tell me who donated to last year’s tree. Hello! I can show you my canceled check!!
If you are reading this, you likely: a) are not surprised I got blown off by the City; b) are pretty sure the City did not follow any of the laws regarding Public Property and are attempting to cover up possible liability by one or more persons to avoid possible punishment; and c) do not regard assets and resources belonging to the citizens of Trenton as subject to being casually used, consumed, harvested, destroyed.
And this brings me back to the story of Mr. Washington as told (possibly apocryphally) by Parson Weems., When the young George committed violence against a valuable cherry tree, he ‘fessed up to his father. His father was prouder of the honesty and courageousness shown by his son when he took responsibility for his actions, than he was of the offense itself. This fable has come down to us for more than two centuries, as a lesson about the character of the man called Father of the Nation.
Contrast that, for a moment, with the Administration of the City of Trenton. The City was presented with a request for information, with an unstated but implied suggestion that the festive Holiday Spruce adorning the exterior of City Hall perhaps perhaps may have, in fact, been procured in violation of City laws. Information that we are entitled to have.
Instead of volunteering whatever information and documents it has, even if that information may reveal mistakes or deliberate wrongdoing, The City is clamming up. “We know nothing, we have nothing, we did nothing wrong.”
So, what does that tell you about the character of these guys?
Happy New Year!