Crews from Fitzwater Tree & Lawn Care, Greenville City Street Department, and jCrane placed the Christmas Tree in Annie Oakley Park.
Ryan Berry | Daily Advocate
West Branch Express, of New Madison, hauled the Christmas Tree donated by Randall Bowman through town to the Annie Oakley Park.
Ryan Berry | Daily Advocate
By Ryan Berry
DailyAdvocate.com
GREENVILLE — Most of the lights in downtown Greenville had already been strung before Monday morning, thanks to the incredible work performed by Matt Myers’ City of Greenville Street Department crews. However, there was one last piece of the puzzle that was missing – the Christmas Tree.
On Monday morning, that missing piece was put into place at Annie Oakley Park. Made possible by Tribute Funeral Homes and many other local businesses, volunteers and the city’s street crews, the Christmas Tree was put in place in plenty of time for the grand illumination on Saturday, Nov. 19 following the Hometown Holiday Horse Parade.
Annie Oakley Park was bustling with activity before 8 a.m. as the street department began preparations for the arrival of the tree. By 9:30 a.m., anticipation was great as the crane from jCrane pulled in and parked on Washington Avenue next to the park. By 9:45 a.m., additional crews began pulling up, including those from Fitzwater Tree & Lawn Care. Finally, just before 10 a.m., the oversized load carried by West Branch Express, of New Madison, made its way down South Broadway and came to a stop in the intersection of Washington, Broadway and Martin Streets.
Attached to the crane, the tree was raised high above street in order to clear power lines and stop lights before delicately being placed in the hole in front of the Annie Oakley statue. Once in place, street crews once again went to work decorating the tree.
This year’s tree was donated by Randall Bowman. According to Eric Fee, of Tribute Funeral Home, the tree will stand in memory of Dianne Brown. Dianne joined her husband, Dick Brown, in being huge supporters of Greenville. Brown’s Christmas light display, just outside of Greenville, brings thousands of people driving by or pulling into the driveway every year.
Additional supporters of the downtown Greenville Christmas Tree are May Financial, Gordon and DeSantis Orthodontics, and Dick Brown.
To contact Daily Advocate Editor Ryan Berry, email [email protected].
