In 1999, a 100-footer from Killingworth, Conn., had to be driven to New London and hoisted onto a ferry. Before the ferry set sail, the tree was hosed down by firetrucks to prevent salt spray from damaging its branches. The actual tree cutting takes very little time, Murbach says. But, preparations for the sawing can take weeks. Torsillieri Brothers of Peapack-Gladstone, N.J., have handled the rigging, cutting, trucking and craning of the tree for 18 years.
Crews begin binding up a tree's branches weeks before it's cut.
The crane then flies the tree through the air to the waiting truck. At the truck, the tree is placed on its side, and it's not unusual to hear a loud crack as some branches are crushed under the weight. Once the tree arrives at Rockefeller Center, it takes another two weeks to trim it with 30,000 lights. The trimming takes place inside scaffolding that is erected around the tree to protect it from onlookers until its official illumination ceremony, which annually ushers in the holiday season in New York. While the tree search and unveiling is time-consuming, it is not Murbach's only job as manager of the gardens division at Rockefeller Center.