Tree finds Charlie Brown in Lincoln Heights

Karen S. Kim

It will be a very merry Christmas for residents of Lincoln Heights

this year, thanks to an Oregon tree farmer who sent an 18-foot fir to

Glendale by mistake.

The Noble fir wasn’t what Glendale ordered. Glendale City Hall’s

tree was supposed to be much fuller and stand 24 feet tall.

But for members of the Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council,

adopting what was nicknamed the “Charlie Brown Christmas tree” by

Glendale city employees was nothing short of a holiday miracle.

“We’re thrilled to death,” said Alice Corona, chairwoman of the

Lincoln Heights Christmas tree committee. “I cried when I found out.

The true meaning of Christmas is that dreams do come true. This tree

just came out of nowhere.”

Well, not nowhere, exactly, but from a farmer in Estacada, Ore.,

about 25 miles southeast of Portland. After the farmer corrected the

mistake by sending Glendale the tree it had ordered, the 18-foot fir

was left without a home, lying on its side at the Glendale Civic

Center.

Tree supplier Kathy Anthony decided to donate the $1,200 tree to

any needy nonprofit organization in the area. And Lincoln Heights

Neighborhood Council was the name that was pulled out of Anthony’s

hat.

“This is one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had,” Anthony

said. “It started out being a total disaster and ended up with the

tree going to a really needy place, a place that is going to do good

by it. There really is a Santa Claus.”

The Lincoln Heights council was planning to buy three trees to

place around the city for the holidays, but the 18-foot tree is for

the town’s Christmas program for kids. Because of the donated tree,

Lincoln Heights -- an area slightly northeast of downtown Los Angeles

-- will have enough money left over to buy many of the town’s

children small Christmas gifts, Corona said.

“The way this tree came into our laps is incredible,” Corona said,

adding that the town’s Christmas program is important to residents.

“Lincoln Heights has been bombarded with gang activity and drugs, so

if we don’t show things like this to the rest of Los Angeles, they

don’t get to see the positive side of our community.”