Decking the halls and the downtown

Christmas trees and wreaths decorate downtown

Members of the New Ulm Education Association gather around a trailer full of Christmas trees on Sunday. The group of teachers and their family members are taking part in the annual tradition of decorating downtown Minnesota Street. In less than an hour, all 63 of the Christmas trees were placed downtown. Front row: Staci Foley, Shelly Hopp, Dalton Foley, Meghan Larson, Lilli Lewandowski, April Lewandowski, Steve Lebert, Anita Longtin, Isabelle Longtin, Brian Longtin, Madelaine Formica and Molly Kaiser. Back row: Steve Foley, Garrett Foley, Connor Foley, Kevin Maudal, Amy Maudal, Rob Bute, Ryan Ziemer and Angela Hoek. --Submitted photo

NEW ULM – Downtown New Ulm is looking a whole lot greener thanks to a long-standing collaboration between the local teachers union and the New Ulm Chamber of Commerce.

Sunday morning, 63 live Christmas trees were placed in corner planters along Minnesota Street by members of New Ulm Education Association (NUEA).

NUEA president Anita Longtin said it has been a tradition for over 30 years for the local teacher’s union to help decorate downtown New Ulm. The New Ulm Chamber has purchased the trees each year. This year the trees were provided by Guggisberg Tree Farm.

A trailer full of trees was parked under the Marktplatz mall at 9 a.m. Sunday morning. NUEA members began unloading the trees to distribute downtown. The actual setup of the trees took less than an hour.

“It’s a really well oiled machine,” Longtin said. “We have a lot of veterans of the program who do this every year.”

Live Christmas trees and holiday garlands were added to downtown New Ulm on Sunday and Saturday. The trees were placed Sunday morning by the local teachers’ union. The wreaths were placed Monday by the New Ulm Street Department. The New Ulm Chamber paid for the Christmas trees. The wreaths were paid for by the City of New Ulm. Photo by Clay Schuldt

The decorations are always placed the Sunday before Thanksgiving. The goal is to have the trees in place before Friday’s Parade of Lights.

The Christmas trees were not the end of the holiday decorations. Monday morning the New Ulm Street Department began hanging holiday wreaths on street lights in the downtown.

Chamber President Sarah Warmka said these wreaths are made from live garland provided by A to Zinnia. The wreaths were assembled and decorated last Friday at A to Zinnia by 23 volunteers. The wreaths, lights and ribbons are paid for by the city of New Ulm.

Warmka said this year the city was able to hang more lighted wreaths thanks to electrical upgrades.

The Christmas trees and wreaths will be up through the holiday season and into the new year.

: Live Christmas trees and holiday garlands were added to downtown New Ulm on Sunday and Saturday. The trees were placed Sunday morning by the local teachers’ union. The wreaths were placed Monday by the New Ulm Street Department. The New Ulm Chamber paid for the Christmas trees. The wreaths were paid for by the City of New Ulm. Photo by Clay Schuldt

: Members of the New Ulm Education Association gather around a trailer full of Christmas trees on Sunday. The group of teachers and their family members are taking part in the annual tradition of decorating downtown Minnesota Street. In less than an hour, all 63 of the Christmas trees were placed downtown. Front row: Staci Foley, Shelly Hopp, Dalton Foley, Meghan Larson, Lilli Lewandowski, April Lewandowski, Steve Lebert, Anita Longtin, Isabelle Longtin, Brian Longtin, Madelaine Formica and Molly Kaiser. Back row: Steve Foley, Garrett Foley, Connor Foley, Kevin Maudal, Amy Maudal, Rob Bute, Ryan Ziemer and Angela Hoek. –Submitted photo