Saturday, November 06, 1999
Teen donates Christmas tree for square
BY JOHN JOHNSTON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Kylie Maxstadt, 16, is donating her tree to the Fountain Square holiday display.
(Gary Landers photo)
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Sixteen-year-old Kylie Maxstadt of Anderson Township gave it careful thought: Did she really want to part with her first Christmas tree?
It had been her tree, growing tall and straight, for as long as she could remember. Finally, she decided: “It's neat having it in my front yard, but it would be even cooler if everybody could see it.”
Soon everybody will.
The 30-foot Norway spruce will be removed from the Maxstadts' yard Nov. 19 and brought to Fountain Square, where it will be a focal point during the holidays.
Kylie at age 3 with her tree.
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Cincinnati's Downtown Council annually searches for a homeowner willing to donate a tree. Kylie's mother, Jennifer Maxstadt, had seen the announcement and hoped to donate another, larger spruce.
Todd Bucher rejected it because it was too close to utility lines. He's the council's special-events manager and the man in charge of finding the Fountain Square tree.
But he saw another tree — Kylie's — that looked perfect. Her family bought it for Christmas 16 years ago, when she was a few months old. After Christmas, it was planted in the yard.
Kylie's main concern about donating it to the city: “I wanted to make sure they weren't going to kill it.”
There's little chance of that happening, said Julie Strunk, owner of Instant Trees. The company will use a large tree spade to remove the spruce from the Maxstadts' yard, fashion a 6-ton root ball, and after the holidays, replant the tree in a park.
“I like that idea,” Kylie said.
Light Up the Square, the annual tree-lighting ceremony on Fountain Square, is Nov. 26.
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