Lack of Christmas Tree lighting causes stir

Dec. 28, 2020 | Danielle Eaton
DanielleE@thereminder.com

HOLYOKE – The lighting of the Christmas Tree outside of City Hall in Holyoke has caused a stir and quite a bit of conversation.

The tree, which is usually lit in a public ceremony during the month of December, was donated by Jen Campbell and Kevin Tracy. Scott Curran then donated his time and resources to get the tree to City Hall in early December.

The discussion began on the evening of Dec. 20 when a member of the community posted to the community forum Hello Holyoke inquiring as to why the tree had not yet been decorated or lit. They said, as someone who had been born and raised in Holyoke, there had never been a year where the tree had not been decorated or lit prior to this one.

Comments poured into the post, many asking the same question and others volunteering to decorate the tree themselves. One person said, “Why don’t we go down and decorate it tomorrow night?” Other comments tagged Mayor Alex Morse and other public officials such as Councilor Mike Sullivan seeking answers.

In a comment, Sullivan confirmed that he had reached out to the city for answers. He said, “The bucket truck that the DPW has [is] broken down. DPW is trying to get help from HG&E or HFD.” Sullivan said, should the agencies whose help had been requested not answer the inquiries submitted, he would “try to do it with a lift from Taylor Rental.”

While some residents were frustrated by the tree not being lit, others came to the defense of public officials, stating that there had been more pressing events recently that had taken priority. “There is a pandemic and a snowstorm and all sorts of problems … in case no one noticed?” one resident said.

Not even a full day later on Dec. 21, the Holyoke Fire Department posted a photo from City Hall, of the Alarm and Signals Division helping decorate the tree using their boon truck.

When Reminder Publishing reached out to Morse for further details he said, “Tree is lit as usual. No big event due to COVID. I don’t follow baseless social media chatter. I’m thankful to the DPW and the Fire Department for their help making it happen in the midst of a global pandemic.”

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