Sam Kent’s sixteenth birthday all-around-town scavenger hunt had groups of teens standing beneath the Christmas tree in Ram Pasture Friday night, March 7, singing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Little did they know, but it would be the last time they would be singing carols beneath the expansive branches of the old spruce. Saturday night, winds toppled the huge holiday tree, changing the face of a quarter-century tradition of the December tree lighting ceremony forever. I prowled around the sprawled giant early Sunday morning as it lay on its side with the star nearly dipping into Hawley Pond and holiday lights all askew and bid the faithful fir a fond farewell. An up and coming Christmas tree was planted a few years back, but it will still be quite a while before the little pine towers over the huge crowd that gathers in Ram Pasture each year to kick off the holiday season in town.

Rob McCulloch of Newtown Tree Service had the sad job of sawing the Christmas tree into pieces for wood chipping this past week. He told me that it was a “little bit upsetting,” considering that he has bobbled around in a cherry picker each holiday season for the past ten years stringing the lights on the tree. Rob is hoping that the right people will band together to replace the big spruce in time for next December’s tree lighting, as are other townspeople hoping, no doubt. Apparently, equipment exists that can transplant a tree nearly as large as the 80-foot tree lost to the windstorm.

Sometimes it is not the winds, but the winds of time that make things move, and so it is for Newtown Florist. Situated at 22 Church Hill Road for the past 20 years, owner Judy Grabarz says that she is pulling up roots and moving to 111 South Main Street as of April 1, next to NAPA Auto Parts. “It will be exactly four years to the day that I became owner of Newtown Florist that we move,” said Judy, who is looking forward to a more spacious shop that will allow shoppers to browse the floral displays that go largely unnoticed in her present location. The new space will also allow her to expand the floral selection to better serve her customers, she said. She’ll be missed in the center of town, but as she pointed out, it’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to the new store front.

High school students wondering how they can add to their community service hours should check with Mrs Ragaini in the Career Center and the Business Department. She tells me that she is seeking two artistically inclined students to assist in painting a small mural near the cafeteria. Visit her in the Career Center before March 28 if you are willing to wield a brush, or call 426-1915 if you are interested. I would be quite happy to offer my own artistic expressions with a swish of my tail or a few creatively placed paw prints….

 It’s a bit of non-news, almost, but Rob Finley, vice president of finance at the Housatonic Railroad, called to say that the USPS still has not taken a stance on the future of the Hawleyville Post Office. The Housatonic Railroad is the landlord of the building on Route 25, but negotiations for a new or remodeled Hawleyville Post Office are between an unnamed developer and the USPS at this time. “We thought that when the process began three or four years ago that by now the post office would be moved or renovated,” said Mr Finley, as an explanation for why maintenance on the post office building has been let slide. The developer has put in a bid to the USPS and with spring building season just around the corner, is getting a little concerned that it has not received any response from the government agency, according to Mr Finley. A Postal Service spokesperson, Jim Hickey, told Mr Finley recently that the Hawleyville project is still a go. What happened to neither rain, snow, sleet, or dark of night standing in the way? Let’s go then.

I’ll be wearin’ o’ the green on Monday, as will many other Irish revelers, and looking forward to a chunk of Irish soda bread for a snack. St Paddy fans can choose from three big parades around the state in the coming days, too. The 37th Annual Greater Hartford St Patrick’s Day Parade steps off at the state Capitol in Hartford at 11 am on Saturday, March 15. Then, if you hurry, maybe you can make it to the Meriden St Patrick’s Day Parade kicking off at 2 pm that day at the corner of Parker Avenue and East Main Street. Take the afternoon off Monday, March 17, to catch the 1st Annual New London Irish Parade starting at 1 pm at the corner of State and Water Streets. End the day a little closer to home, like at Maggie McFly’s in Southbury or Middlebury where they will be serving up Irish specialties; I’ll pass on the green beer, though.

I tend to think of things like crocus and asparagus and robins as harbingers of spring, but apparently so are chipmunks. The Farmer’s Almanac notes that on March 19 “chipmunks emerge from hibernation now.” I just hope they don’t all emerge at once.

I do hope that next week you will emerge, though, to… Read me again.