A tree that served as a memorial for one family for decades will now bring holiday joy to thousands. The 40-foot Norway spruce tree selected as the Christmas tree in Lancaster's Penn Square was planted in a Mount Joy yard almost 25 years ago.

"In May of 1999, my dad died, and Sheetz Funeral Home had a living tree delivered to us in his memory after the funeral," recalled Greg Schneider, the son of the late Arthur and Mary Jane Schneider. "It was probably only 6 or 8 inches tall. I planted it for Mom, but I wasn't thinking ahead, and I planted it only about 12 feet from the house."

Over the years, the tree grew significantly, reaching a final height of about 50 feet. Schneider trimmed it back a few times as it encroached on the house, but he didn't do any other maintenance on it.

Several times, Schneider thought about having the tree removed because it was so close to the house, but there was always a large expense involved, along with the effort of hauling it away, so he put it off. In 2021, he sold the house to Phillip Miller and moved into a retirement community in Lititz.

Earlier this year, he read a newspaper article about how Lancaster city was looking for a tree for the square, and he thought of the spruce. He contacted Miller to see what he thought about suggesting the tree, and Miller agreed it was a good idea.

The Lancaster city arborist came out to see the tree, and although he told Schneider it was one of the nicest trees he's seen in a long time, he also mentioned that it was one of three or four in the running to be this year's city Christmas tree.

Ultimately, Schneider's tree made the cut (pun intended), and it was removed from the Mount Joy property, transported by flatbed truck to Penn Square and installed there. A tree lighting ceremony was held in late November, and the tree will remain in the square through the rest of the year before being mulched and spread throughout parks in the city.

"We will definitely go down and see it," Schneider said, noting that 10 feet of the tree had to be removed before it was set up in the square because it was too big. "I knew that sooner or later, it was going to have to be removed at the house, and who knows what would have been done with it? I think it's nice this is where it ended up, and other people have told me they think it's pretty cool, too."