Will Christmas Tree Lane Go Dark?

This is Christmas Tree Lane in 1959.

As some of you may know, I'm one of the Directors on the Board of the Christmas Tree Lane Association. Every 2nd Wednesday of the month we meet at the Altadena Library on Santa Rosa and Mariposa. We have 12 Board Members and only a few volunteers from the community who come and help throughout the year. There are no "owners" of Christmas Tree Lane and the County of Los Angeles has nothing to do with keeping the Lane lit throughout the year. Everything is accomplished through volunteer efforts.

Christmas Tree Lane is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as California Historical Landmark No. 990. After 87 years of tree lighting, Christmas Tree Lane is in danger of becoming extinct. The lack of volunteers and non-interest from the community has brought this question to the table of the current board members.

At the last board meeting, there weren't even enough members to get a general vote on a particular item. Doesn't anyone care?

Though there are over 500 members who donate money during the years, physical help is needed throughout the year to put up, take down and test lights and help plan the lighting ceremony. This year it took us over 2 months (on weekends only) to take down the lights and test the bulbs. If we had more volunteers, we would have had more time to plan and discuss a Winter Festival, but, now that has gone on the back burner because we're just trying to figure out ways to get more help to keep Christmas Tree Lane alive.

How YOU can help NOW:

1) Beginning on May 31, 2008 at 9am we will be clearing the brush surrounding the trees. Free donuts and coffee in the morning and a free hearty lunch is served at 12:00 at a home down the street. It's a good workout. JUST SHOW UP!!!!! Bring the whole family!

2) High School service clubs, Rotary, Kiwanis, etc. are all perfect organizations that can help.

3) Visit www.christmastreelane.net or call (626) 403-1123. You can even call me on my cell at (626) 786-1231 and I'll be more than happy to assist you with your questions or concerns.

Here's a picture of some of the volunteers at my house having lunch after working on the Lane! I'm the one wearing the baseball cap and Christmas Tree Lane T-Shirt. Steve, our Treasurer is standing next to our President, Maureen, on the right and most of the volunteers came to us from Pasadena High School.