Winter Wonderful The Tale of Two Tannenbaums Mary Lynne Spazok
When it comes to seasonal décor, who’s to say what’s right or wrong? Centuries ago, early European Druids (ancient mystics of the forest) confined to a dreary sympathetic life over the winter solstice, hung evergreen boughs over doors and windows to ward off witches, deter death, and ensure fertility. Indoors, sprigs of holly and mistletoe were considered magical because their green color never faded. Today, that magic endures through the holiday beauty and aroma of fresh greenery, first and foremost, the Christmas tree. The Tale of Two Tannenbaums begins with Mary and Jerry Raupp, married for 47 years, residing in Pennsylvania for a lifetime. At their home in Upper St. Clair, Thanksgiving and Christmas is celebrated in monumental grandeur. Pre-holiday, Jerry proclaims, “I am not doing the “too-tall tree” again this year; too much work!” After rowdy resistance from the kids and grandkids, Black Friday quickly goes green in their house with the debut of a fresh 300-pound, 14-foot Fraser fir. The first step is retrieving the vast array of decorations and lights from numerous “in house” storage areas. Flip top boxes are emptied of 3000 multi-color lights, 2000 ornaments, and an industrial power cord. Next, Jerry postures the fir in a heavy-duty stand (adding two gallons of water daily) and layers the lights. Mary lovingly reveals each ornament from its packaging. While each tree tells a different story, the collection of ornaments brings memories. A Christopher Radko design “Happy New Year 2000 Times Square” is a Mary favorite. Fashioned in Europe, the ornament is eight inches high, hand crafted from mouth-blown tempered glass lined with A lovely decorated tree sterling silver. Applied artisan gilding includes vibrant coloration followed by a dusting of glitter. Jerry is keen on his authenticated “Kugel.” In 17th-century England, the glass “witch ball” was hung year-round in windows and doors to ward off occultists who were thought to be repulsed by round shapes. On the brighter side, this shiny silver sphere reflected welcome bursts of sunlight and the beauty of flickering candle flames. Germany 1840-embossed brass caps with rings were added, thus fashioning the first engineered Christmas tree ornament, the Kugel. The first year of marriage for Mary and Jerry was bittersweet. Joyful as the holidays can be, it was also a time of melancholy. You see, Mary’s brother, Bill, enlisted in the U.S. Army. Patriotic, their tree that year stood proud until Bill’s safe return the following March. Ever since, a splendid Fraser is chosen and continues to reflect their life’s challenges and triumphs. The big brother to the Raupp’s Fraser is the 75-foot Pennsylvania “Penn State” Norway spruce that made its way to
Rockefeller Center in November 2017 to become the most celebrated Christmas tree in the world. First noticed in 2011 by Rockefeller Center’s head gardener Erik Pauze (while enroute to a State College football game), he stopped to knock on the door of the property owner. Straight away, Erik proposed Jerry and Mary Raupp a future starring role for this gigantic specimen. After a six-year period of Pauze’s prudent arboriculture’s management, the 80-year-old titan had come of age. Giant in stature and sentiment (senior years of its life cycle), the Norway was proudly donated. A rotund 50 feet in diameter, and tall and straight and weighing in at just over 12 tons, the fir was loaded on a 115-foot flatbed, arriving to midtown Manhattan’s 30 Rockefeller Plaza on November 11. Taking one hour to erect the spruce by crane with steel cables and two days for the scaffolding to be built, engineers, carpenters, gardeners, and three electricians Rockefeller tree, 2017
Cont. on page 22
019 2018-2 IES SER
SEASON
MurikamiFicati on
ANDROCLES AND THE
LION
SINGLE TICKETS
412-456-6666
GROUPS 10+ TICKETS
SEASON TICKETS
412-471-6930 412-456-1390
TRUS TARTS. ORG /BRIDGE Winter 2018
UPPER ST. CLAIR TODAY
21
