Emmaus Will Look Into Growing own Christmas Trees

As the borough of Emmaus looks forward to its ceremony in on Saturday night, an Emmaus borough councilman is already looking forward next year’s Christmas tree – and the trees after that.

Mike Waddell, who heads council’s general administration committee, made what he termed an “unusual request” at the Nov. 21 .

The borough, he said, had been looking for its 2011 Christmas tree for a while, and it had taken until a few days before Thanksgiving to find one. Good news that was a little too close for comfort for Waddell.

To make the borough’s annual Christmas tree hunt a little easier down the road, Waddell proposed that the borough explore growing its own Christmas trees.

“I have always liked that we have a tree,” Waddell said. “I would like council to consider the possibility of planting some trees on borough property. We could purchase, say, 50 trees.

“It would be interesting in the coming years to have our own home-grown trees. I think it’s a good community venture and it gives us a natural tree and we know we are going to have one without someone having to scurry round in different counties,” he said.

Borough council president Lee Ann Gilbert assigned the task of exploring the feasibility of home-grown Christmas trees to Waddell’s general administration committee because of the committee’s ties to the borough’s Shade Tree Commission.