As a little girl, Maria Corti’s grandmother would take her to New York City to see the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. This year, she’s providing the tree.
Corti, a fifth-grade teacher, bought her house in Easton, last year because it was perfect for her thoroughbred horse, Dapper and had plenty of space for the horse to exercise. It also came with a 76-foot tall Norwegian Spruce.
In March, Corti e-mailed Rockefeller Center to suggest her tree be considered for the East Coast’s most famous Christmas tree.
Over the summer, Maria heard back. Her tree was selected. Dave Murbach, of Rockefeller Center, had been scouting around the area in a helicopter, and noticed the property with the horse trailer and the large tree. His decision was made.
The news was bittersweet. It was what she hoped for, but the news came a few weeks after Dapper fell ill and had to be put down. The horse trailer Murbach spotted had been vacant since Dapper died.
“It was really meant to be. It was fate,” Corti said. “I wrote, and Dave found the tree at the same time.”
Preparing the tree for its Christmas debut has kept Corti busy and kept her mind off losing Dapper.
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She has also worked the tree into classroom assignments, including creating math problems using the circumference and radius of the tree. She’s assigned tree-related writing assignments, like descriptive passages and poems about nature and essays on why the students believe “their” tree should be chosen to be part of the Rockefeller Center celebration.
“I am honored to be able to share this tree with the world,” Corti said. “I’ll miss it, and when the day comes to cut it down, I know I’ll get a little teary. But truly, after the loss of Dapper, it’s nice to be a part of this happy, exciting event. I know this tree will bring joy to people, and I feel good that the wood will be re-purposed for Habitat for Humanity.”
The tree will be cut down on Wednesday and put up in the center on Thursday. Corti plans to be in Rockefeller Center to see the tree lighting, as she did as a little girl.
The Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree tradition started in 1931, according to MSNBC. Several have come from Connecticut, including the tallest tree in Rock history. In 1948, a 100-foot tall Norway spruce from Killingworth adorned the center, according to history.com.
Other Connecticut spruces that ended up there had their roots in Shelton, Ridgefield and Manchester.
