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Memories of a Tree Lighting Tradition
By Joanne LoBrutto-Schroeder, Torrington
The Christmas shopping season officially begins in Torrington on the day after Thanksgiving. Traditionally, a ceremony is held at 6 p.m. in front of the Warner Theatre, complete with music and the singing of carols. Santa Claus is escorted down Main Street amidst the throngs of children clamoring for the candy canes that he gives out. Finally, with the appropriate pomp and circumstance, the majestic tree atop the marquee is lit and the Christmas season begins. But, I’m sorry to say, this will not happen this year.
Several reasons have been given as to why the tree will no longer be displayed. One is that the new vertical sign will block it. The other is that it is not historic. Let me deal with the latter. How does anyone know it is not historic? If one does some research, it is easy to find pictures of the Warner marquee dating back to the ‘30s and ‘40s, showing billboards advertising coming attractions that were made by the theatre manager, Mr. Scanlon. Now, if it was used for that, isn’t it possible that during one of those years, a Christmas tree was placed up there?
And if one would like to nit-pick (far be it from me), the new marquee is itself not historic. There is a picture taken on the day that the theatre opened—August 19, 1931—which shows the original marquee. The glass was black with white letters, not white with black letters. The vertical sign had three rows of lights, not two. There was no neon in the sign at that time. The corner Warner decorations were different. Even if one chalks up the new design to "artistic license," it still is not a historic replica. This being the case, then putting up the Christmas tree would not violate any historic rulings.
The vertical sign would block some of the tree when looking north from the plaza. But the view from the north and from the west would be as splendid as before. It is irrelevant if the tree is obscured from one side. The continuance of the spirit of Christmas that the tree lends to downtown is what is relevant.
I remember many years of tree lighting preparations at the Warner. Frank Pennington would be the first to show his face. "Christmas must be coming, Frank is here," is what we’d all say at the theatre. Frank would appear in October to start the long process of stringing Christmas lights downtown and putting up the tree. For many years, it was a real tree. Frank worked with CL&P and would put out feelers to anyone would wanted to donate a huge tree. He would arrange for the CL&P trucks to put the tree up on the marquee. He and his volunteer crew would spend countless hours, mostly after work, putting up the lights on the tree. Later on, he and Dr. Tempkin arranged for the design of the new tree. Although it was artificial, it was a great looking tree and was a little easier to put up and decorate.
Another person who misses the festivities is Chapin Burritt. When we started this tradition, we needed a Santa Claus to ride down Main Street. Chapin was perfect. He looks like Santa, without the potbelly, of course. How he loved being Santa. He would take care of getting the suit, most times finding someone who would donate it. Many times, he bought all of the candy canes. He would show up about an hour before, all excited about the events to come and get dressed in the theatre. I would give him his cue when to get on the fire truck or horse-drawn wagon, or whatever other form of transportation we had arranged for Santa to arrive in, and off he’d go.
These are recounts of some of the memories that the tree lighting tradition created. The most outstanding memory I have is that of the smiling faces of the hundreds of people who stood in front of the marquee and watched the lights flash on in all of their brilliance. Of course, it was a lot of work to prepare this ceremony. The focal point that was maintained was that the community helped to purchase the theatre in 1982, so the community should benefit from the theatre’s presence and progress. The tree lighting was a community event. It is truly a shame that it will now only be a memory.
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