A Sparkling Donation
For several years, Los Gatans have fretted about how to make their Christmas tree in the Town Plaza more brilliant. The deodor cedar has a proud tradition, having been planted in 1923 by members of the Los Gatos History Club. At the annual tree lighting on the eve of the Children's Christmas and Holiday Parade, the town lights the tree with great fanfare. But some have noticed in recent years, it sort of lacked ... well, sparkle. In 1996, resident Dave Aikman tried to stir up the community to make the tree brighter and, for a while, the Community Foundation, as well as the History Club, worked on the project. This year, however, thanks to residents Mark and Barbara Beck, who donated $20,000 to the cause, the tree will be aglow with 15 new 90-foot strings of lights. Here parks and public works employees Jerett Blaskey and Chris Handley sort through the strings. The Beck's donation added 600 lights, doubling the number of lights on the tree. The tree will be lit in the early evening on Dec. 1, during a program that starts at 4 p.m.
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Los Gatos, California Since 1881
