by KYW's Mark Abrams
The huge holiday tree that will occupy the famous spot in New York's Rockefeller Center is coming from a New Jersey Christmas tree farm.
The 72-foot-tall Norway spruce, which weighs eight tons and is 40 feet in diameter, was carefully cut down at the Tree King Plant Mart in Hamilton Township (Mercer County) on Thursday morning and hoisted onto a tractor-trailer for the 90-minute ride to New York.
Bob Varanyak, who runs the tree farm with his twin brother Bill, says the tree has a long family history:
"My mother planted this tree 77 years ago, and she always said it was going to New York some day. She didn't know about Rockefeller Center. And her prediction came true."
Varanyak says the tree has never been sheared and grew naturally to its height:
"You'll be able to put lights all the way through inside, and when that tree relaxes, opens up, those lights... I can just picture how beautiful it's going to be."
The Varanyak family is donating the tree, and they'll be in Mahattan for the December 3rd lighting ceremony.
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