November 9, 2007

Wrigley?’s Daisy Avenue Christmas Tree Lane

The decorating of Daisy Avenue from PCH to Hill Street began many, many
years ago ?– fifty-four to be exact. Gertrude Whittle lived on Daisy and
brought joy to the Wrigley neighborhood when thousands of visitors, near and
far, would come to the Lane to see the beautiful decorations. She started
the tradition that has been kept up all these years. In 1989, Maria
Norvell, Wrigley Association Board Member and CTL Chair, took on the task of
organizing the decorations and raising money for the event and has been
doing so every year since then.

However, in 2007, some members of the Wrigley Association felt that we were
spending too much time and energy on Christmas Tree Lane. These members
held a majority on the Board of Directors. Tragically, they voted to
separate Christmas Tree Lane from the Wrigley Association.

On March 19, 2007, the Board of Director?’s for the Wrigley Association
passed a motion (6 Yes ?– David Carlton, Alan Tolkoff, Annie
Greenfield-Wisner, Gavin McKiernan, Kelly Haas, and Chris Graeber; 5 No ?–
Jill Hill, Joan Greenwood, Maria Norvell, Nancy Risch, and Danny Amat) at
their monthly board meeting that stated:

?“The Wrigley association will separate itself from Christmas Tree Lane. CTL
can form itself into whatever organizational format it deems best for
itself, all monies controlled by Daisy CTL committee would go to the new CTL
organization. The two organizations, in recognition of the historic
connection would agree to work closely together but as legally separate
entities.?”

The May 17, 2007 issue of the Wrigley Association Bulletin on Page 2 stated
the same motion.

At the May 21, 2007 Wrigley Association Board of Director?’s meeting, once
again, the same motion was reaffirmed (7 Yes ?– David Carlton, Alan Tolkoff,
Annie Greenfield-Wisner, Colleen McDonald, Gavin McKiernan, Chris Graeber,
and Danny Amat; 3 No ?– Maria Norvell, Jill Hill, and Nancy Risch).

And at the General Membership Meeting on July 2, 2007, yet another motion
passed that stated:

?“That the membership affirm the action of the Board from March which
approved separation of Daisy Christmas Tree Lane from the Wrigley
Association.?”

In part, it was because of this tragedy that we started WANA, the Wrigley
Area Neighborhood Alliance, Inc. (WANA), the New Home of Daisy Avenue
Christmas Tree Lane with Maria Norvell continuing as Chairperson.

If you support Christmas Tree Lane, please join WANA. Joan Greenwood, Maria
Norvell, Jill Hill, Nancy Risch, Timothy Risch, Joan Pizzato, and Jim Trout
and many others are all part of WANA. Please do not forget that we are the
ones who voted FOR Christmas Tree Lane! We believe that you can never spend
too much time or too much effort for this wonderful and joyous celebration.

Fundraising efforts started late. But it isn?’t too late to help with some
of the expense for lighting the trees. Help ?“Light Up the Lane?” by sending
your federal and state tax-deductible donations to:

Friends of WANA
P.O. Box 6370
Long Beach, CA 90806

Wrigley Association Funds Lighti

Wrigley Association Funds Lighting on
> Daisy Avenue Christmas Tree Lane
>>
>
> November 7, 2007. Long Beach . Last
night, David Carlton, President of the Wrigley Association along with
Treasurer Annie Greenfeld-Wisner presented City Council member Tonia
Reyes Uranga with a check in the amount of $7,000 dollars to upgrade
the lighting on Christmas Tree Lane insuring festive lights will be
possible for years to come. This is in addition to the $12,200.00
the Wrigley Association had previously given to Partners of Parks for
Christmas Tree Lane that will be used by the City of Long Beach for
this purpose. The City of Long Beach will provide the rest of the
funds necessary for this project.
>
>> David Carlton, President of the Wrigley
Association said that ''these funds will arrive in time to ensure that
we will have festive lighting along the parade route and for all the
visitors who come to see the decorations this Christmas. We should
never go without lights again like we did last year.'' Carlton
added ''The Wrigley Association is proud to be the organization behind
the great Christmas Tree Lane tradition for almost twenty years and
to be able to make possible its continued presence in our community
for generations to come.''
>
>
>
>
> ''This has been quite a week for the neighborhood. On
Wednesday we had hundreds of kids join us for a Halloween Carnival,
Saturday we planted 150 trees, Monday we hosted a forum for the 55th
assembly election attended by more than 80 people and today we ensure
the Christmas Tree Lane will flourish for years to come. I am
humbled to be a part of such a far reaching all volunteer
organization of concerned citizens.''
>
>
> Councilwoman Reyes Uranga was thrilled to continue this
community tradition, ''when you have involved citizens like the
members of the Wrigley Association in your district it makes things a
lot easier for me as a representative. Since last year's parade I
have worked closely with the Wrigley Association to ensure that the
lights on the trees would return, and I am proud to say that they
have come through to fill the gap between what the city had available
and what needed to be spent.''
>
>
>
> The Wrigley Association has partnered with the
City of Long Beach to sponsor and help organize the more than 50 year
old Christmas Tree Lane parade and events since its inception. This
year's parade will be Saturday, December 8, 2007 . Last year, the
City of Long Beach did not have the funds available to do necessary
upgrades to the electrical systems on Daisy Avenue to be able to
light the trees along Christmas Tree Lane . This year, the Wrigley
Association stepped in to make sure there would be enough money
available to light up the tree's again and for the foreseeable future.
>
>
> The Wrigley Association is a neighborhood association dedicated to
improving the lives in the Wrigley area of Long Beach . The
Association has more than 260 members in the Wrigley neighborhood.
The general meetings are held on the first Monday of each month at
7:00 P.M. at the Veteran's Park Social Hall, 101 East 28th Street .
(If the first Monday is a holiday, meeting will be held on the second
Monday of the month). Child Care and parking are free.
www.neighborhoodlin k.com/longbch/ wrigley/