Dec 15, 2009 7:37 pm US/Pacific
Concord's Christmas Tree Gains National Notoriety
CONCORD (CBS 5) ―
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Concord's 2009 Christmas Tree.
CBS
Who could have guessed what started out as a way to save the city of Concord $20,000 would end up making national headlines?
Joyce Lindquist was taking pictures of Concord's Christmas Tree, while CBS News Correspondent Ben Tracy was working on a story for the Evening News.
"We heard it was Charlie Brown looking and it does not disappoint. It's definitely a little pathetic," Tracy said.
"The media nationwide has been surprising to us, definitely surprising," said Concord City Councilmember Laura Hoffmeister.
But the fact that it's brown, leaning and is sparse seems to no longer be a negative.
In our CBS 5 Eyewitness News Poll, 89 percent of Concord residents say the city made the right decision not to buy a tree. Only 8 percent told Survey USA it was the wrong one.
"There is always going to be people who are going to have something negative to say, but more and more people come to our defense over it," said Downtown Program Manager Florence Weiss.
It didn't start out that way.
"A lot of people were upset when they first saw it. I think they didn't quite understand," Weiss said.
And it's not just the media. The tree has struck a chord with people who've heard about the tree around the country and have sent e-mails to the city.
"Finally, someone in government has shown some common sense!" said Gale from Yukon, Oklahoma.
"I wish my city had done the same thing," said Michelle from Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Lisa from Alaska said, "This is a community I would be proud to be a part of."
And Diane from Colorado e-mailed, "It stands as a symbol to the world what the true meaning of the season is; people, not things."
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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