“Now every citizen can feel personally involved by donating a bulb or candle and know that on that magical night the spirits or memories of loved ones are illuminated in this very special way,” explained Diana Johnson.

Sixteen years ago the Newtown Chamber of Commerce began the now annual tradition of a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony despite warnings by many residents that it was bound to fail.

“There was a lot of skepticism at the time, because of vandalism,” Ms Johnson recalled. “The Chamber had participated in a townwide tree lighting, but that ceased by the early 80s because there had been so much vandalism.”

But Sam Eisenbach, who was president of the Chamber in 1985, was eager to try. He enlisted the help of Diana Johnson, who was then the chamber’s administrative assistant, and Janet Woycik, director of the Booth Library. Soon the committee also included an electrician, Stan Perrone; an arborist, Dan Dalton; Barbara Kasbarian of Newtown Parks & Recreation; and Mary Jane and Brian Healey.

“The Chamber didn’t want the event to be commercial, so choosing the right site was important,” Mrs Johnson said. “A perfect tree was located in the Ram Pasture, and the Newtown Cemetery Association granted permission for its use.”

“The logistics of this event became apparent only as we moved along,” Janet Woycik said. “We needed lighting and safety precautions for our audience. Newtown Hook and Ladder and the ambulance corps volunteers to provide those services. The Bee really got behind the project, advertising the event extensively.”

Mrs Woycik said the committee worked on the theory of “build it and they will come!” But when the day of the lighting arrived, the worry set in. What if no one came? What if the switch was pulled and the tree didn’t light up?

“Thank goodness our worry was for naught,” she said. “The countdown began at 7 pm and when we all reached one, Sam Eisenbach pulled the switch. The tree shimmered with its hundreds of lights and through the oohs and ahs a single voice could be heard singing Silent Night. Everyone present joined in the singing and a special moment in the history of Newtown and the Chamber of Commerce had begun.”

“There are many wonderful stories in the past 15 years – many of them funny – like the time we decided to serve hot chocolate at Dickinson Park [after the ceremony] and didn’t realize that the water had been shut off for the winter,” Mrs Woycik said. “We ended up having to race back and forth to the Kasbarian house to fill up our pots.”

Mrs Woycik said her favorite remembrance concerns a letter written by a mother whose child is buried in Hawley Cemetery across the street from the tree. “She thanked us for allowing her family to celebrate the holidays with her child once again because of this tree shining near his grave. Our committee is pleased and humbled that we had touched this family and others in Newtown. We hope to continue this wonderful tradition for many years to come.”

Two years after the first tree-lighting, Janet Woycik enlisted the help of the Newtown Tennis Association in getting people to distribute luminaria and to help screw new bulbs into the strings, a task which must be done each year.

“We started out with just a few luminaria on Main Street and a few lights along the pond, partly because the pond used to freeze and we were afraid kids would walk on the ice and fall in,” Diana Johnson said. “Now we have lights from the monument at the top of Main Street all the way to the Ram Pasture and all the way around it.”

Despite the early fears about vandalism, there has only been one serious instance in 15 years. In 1991, the day after the tree was lit, the lights failed to go on. An investigation showed that someone had shot a bullet into the electrical box that controlled the lights. A few years before that, someone had pulled down some of the strings on the lower part of the tree.

Each year the celebration requires about 1,500 bulbs and about the same number of luminaria. Some of the large commercial strings of lights also must be replaced each year.

Mail-in coupons will be published in The Bee each week; the names of the donors and the persons that are honored will be published. The tree lighting ceremony is Friday, December 1, at 6:30 pm.