The tree taking center stage at Rockefeller Center this Christmas was donated Thursday by the family of a veteran FDNY firefighter who toiled at Ground Zero.
Beaming with pride, Peter Acton and his wife, Stephanie, watched alongside 50 onlookers as their 74-foot-tall Norway spruce was cut down in the backyard of their Mahopac, NY home, about 50 miles from Manhattan.
"It's a sense of pride," said Peter Acton, 38, who works at Engine 79 in the Bronx. "It's a tree from a small house, a small town and it's going to a big city."
The 40-foot-wide, 18,000-pound tree will be raised at Rockefeller Center Friday. The annual tree lighting will take place on Nov. 30.
The Actons first learned the soaring centerpiece of their yard was in the running when they received a knock on their door on Sept. 11 from a Rockefeller tree scout.
At the time, Peter Acton, a 9/11 first responder, was at a ceremony honoring those who died in the Sept. 11 attacks.
He said he was amazed by the symbolism.
"It's an uncanny story," said Peter Acton, who has two kids.
Stephanie Acton, a part-time administrative worker at Macy's, said she's sorry to bid farewell to the family's tree - but she's ecstatic it will provide joy to so many others.
"I think it was its time and what a great way for it to end," said Stephanie Acton, 34.
Nydailynews.com
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