Move over Rockefeller Center with its towering Norway spruce.
One of the most touching seasonal displays is a humble 18-foot tree hidden in Central Park.
Every holiday season for almost 40 years, a fake Hinoki cypress deep in the park comes alive. It is decorated with hundreds of ornaments commemorating beloved pets with pictures and heartfelt messages.
“I see you through the pines. Walk free and unencumbered,” reads an ornament with a photo of a terrier named Scout.
Another holds a photo of a gray eared rabbit named Milo Lee and the message: “We will miss your daily nose rubs, rocking you back and forth like a baby, your happy sounds when you get treats.”
It’s a “cathartic place, but it’s also a place of great joy and celebration,” said Larry Closs, an Upper West Sider who acts as an “ambassador” for the memorial, which is known as the Furever Tree.
Around Thanksgiving each year, Closs, a documentarian, and Marianne Larsen, a “semi-retired” interior decorator who is “pushing 70,” pull hundreds of carefully preserved ornaments out of storage and hang them on the tree, with the help of some ” out.”
Some date back to the late 80s.
Larsen has acted as a “tree keeper” for about twenty years. She took the reins from retired tree founders Jason Reddock and Nicki Gallasa, a pair of pet-loving theater friends.
The unloved pair started the tradition in 1986, when they wore the permanent color with red velvet bows and pictures of their dead dogs.
“It’s happy and sad – but that’s the point of a memorial, isn’t it?” Larsen said.
When she began caring for the memorial tree, there were only 50 or 100 ornaments. Now, there are nearly 2,000 as word of it has spread.
But its location remains unknown to most and the tree keeps a low profile.
She has only a sporadically updated Facebook page and a simple website, neither of which gives her exact location. Those who know where it is, keep it close to their hearts so as not to spoil it.
“After 40 years, it’s still a secret — it’s part of the mystique,” Closs said. “As a New Yorker, I love a good secret, a good mystery.”
The cat lover grew up dreaming of becoming a vet and first visited the tree six years ago.
“I was shocked by how beautiful it was,” said Closs, who has ornaments commemorating three of his late cats. “And I still love it. When the sun shines on those ornaments and everyone’s dancing in the wind, it’s so beautiful.”
He visits the tree almost every morning and afternoon to make sure all the ornaments are in order in the elements and that the tree is healthy
Larsen also visits almost every day. A few years ago, she bought a laminating machine to repair and store ornaments.
Last Saturday, Annabella Cannarella, 89, was one of many who stopped by the tree.
She makes it a point to walk around town with her cane every day to see the tree. She honors her friends’ pet ornaments and also three of her deceased cats.
“People ask me to say hello to their Ruby and cat Sam and Lumpy every day,” said Cannarella, who has been visiting the tree for two decades. “They trust me.”
Dylan Skinner, 26, and her fiance Harry also visited the tree on Saturday. They were there to hang an ornament for their beloved cat Harley, who died six months ago, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer.
“We’re trying to find ways to talk about her and keep her memory alive,” said Skinner, who lives in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn.
Their decoration featured a black and white photo of their “angel” and the message “You left us too, too soon. We miss you and your cuddles every day.”
“It’s exciting,” Harry told The Post as the pair embraced, taking in the solemnity of the moment.
Skinner added, “It’s wild to see so much love packed into such a small space.”
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Image Source : nypost.com