Rfalconcam Forum

Roadside Secret Santa at it again along NJ highway

By WAYNE PARRY

(AP) LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP, N.J. - An annual Christmas mystery is playing itself out again along a busy New Jersey highway.

A Secret Santa is once again surreptitiously hanging ornaments from a large pine tree by the side of the Garden State Parkway in the dead of night.

A gold star was hanging from the boughs of the tree Tuesday morning.

It’s the fourth year in a row that the ornaments have shown up on the same tree in the southbound lanes in a sparsely populated area of Little Egg Harbor Township.

No one has come forward and acknowledged decorating the tree. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which maintains the road, has said it isn’t responsible.

The ornaments appear gradually, starting with one or two, and eventually growing to about a dozen by Christmas.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

 :secret2:  Funny Bobbie!  :clap:

I can just see you... paint roller in one hand... decorations in the other... :scaredblue:

There is a mid-sized fir tree in the median on Route 7 west of Leesburg, VA, that gets mysteriously decorated each year as well.  If I had more time and money, I'd love to chain a small generator to it and hang lights.  Maybe in a few years, someone will do solar powered ones :-)
Carol
WV

FYI - That exit off the GSP is at least a 2 (closer to 3) hour drive for Donna!  This is down near Atlantic City. :christree:

Awwwww, Janet! This is like telling me there is no Santa!

This reminds me of a wonderful childhood memory... a tiny, lighted Christmas tree in a valley off the road we took to back-and-forth between grandparents' houses. Darkness surrounded us - except this little tree. My sisters and I still talk about it when we pass that way. A magical sight.

They do make solar powered lights and battery!

Yep, but at this point, the expense for enough to sho would be prohibitive, to say nothing of how I'd get  them strung up there...
Still hoping to see it happen though  ;D
Carol
WV

Cherrypicker! Another BIG expense!  :o

See?! Donna has all the gear sorted. So don't tell ME she is not the Secret Santa. Ha!

You go Donna!   :clap:

:(  Unfortunately, someone would probably steal the lights & battery !!

When 9-11 happened, I put little flags on neighbors lawns. Most took them down. I don't get people. I live in a crazy neighborhood anyway.

As someone who has, in the deep past of course ;), been not uninvolved in similar late-night installations, I highly recommend it; even the humblest handmade ornament in a neutral public place is a good thing, and very fun. Just make sure you're not polluting, overly.

Oh man --it never occurred to me!  What a wonderful idea!!

First "delivery" made!  I'll have to see if it stays there...  It's behind a low wall, with a little fence, so adults won't bother it...  And I put it up fairly high...  So maybe kids can't reach it...  Or maybe everyone will just be glad to see it there!

Thanks for the great idea!!

Anne in Toronto  :christree:

Wow!  Anne

When you said you were going right out you were not kidding!!  Keep us posted with how many you get to put out!!  I think it's great!

Lynne in New Hampshire  :clap: :thumbsup:

Anne! Way to go! What fun!

It was fun!  And I delight in this newly found ability I have -- to be spontaneous!  And I've already decided on my next "ornament" -- a crude but delightful papier-mache snowflake one of my nephews made for me some 20 years ago.  Last night's was a Santa, pulled from the imagination of an excited 5 year old niece.

I also thought about taking daily photographs, but decided that things like this are best left to the imagination...  That my memories will always be much clearer than a photograph.  Because a photo wouldn't capture my reasons for doing this, the feelings that others may have...  I will post about my little adventures.  But it's not the actuality that matters, but my renewed feelings of joy, happiness, contentment -- something I thought I had lost forever seven months ago.

Thanks again for such a great idea, for the supportive words!  You have changed the season from one of sadness to one much brighter, hopeful!

Anne in Toronto
 

Well, Number 1, the Santa, is still on the tree, survived an short spell of huge snowflakes and a ferocious wind and has been joined by Number 2, the lumpy snowflake!  I cheated and put it up as I passed by, walking home from downtown.  Didn't figure I'd have enough energy to go out again.  And there wasn't anyone in the immediate vicinity, so I moved quickly and did the deed!  Tomorrow -- another niece's contribution, a large dough star, beautifully painted by this then 3 year old!!  It is soooo hard, that I don't think any precipitation will hurt it.  And, if it does, well, it's good for returning to the earth, no harm done!  So far so good!!  :party:

Anne in Toronto

Not only are YOU having a great time doing this, you are sharing the fun with us!  I think I speak for the rest, that we are enjoying your stealth project  :thumbsup:
Carol
WV

Anne, in spite of truly cold winter temps in ROC while I lived there, I do NOT remember being colder than when we visited Toronto years back. That breath-stopping kind of cold. So I have to send a big CHEERS to you for the tree decorations. What a woman! So much in the spirit of the Christmas season. Have fun - we sure are as we tune in to your antics!

Slainte!

AW Anne this is a GREAT story to follow!  I can't wait to read more!  Hopefully someone passing by will finally comment on how cool it is!  I am sure it is giving LOTS of people a smile!   :clap:

It will also be interesting to see if other ornaments start to appear  :devil:
Carol
WV

Oh man, am I frozen!!  It's bitter out there!  :shiver:  I had to keep reminding myself why I was wandering around in the dark, freezing to death!  Anyway, the large, dough star :star:, in all its gaudy uniqueness, is suspended, looking pretty fine!  That's three ornaments!  I am going to leave for work a bit earlier than usual and just stand across the street, watching as the kids head to school and the adults to work.  I wonder if anyone has noticed...  Certainly, no one has touched the other two.  Anyway, I will report back.  And will plan tomorrow's mission!  I must say, that an extra trip down my 282 stairs, is good exercise, but in combination with the cold, doesn't exactly create the right place for sleeping!  On the other hand, climbing into my nice warn waterbed has its attractions!!

Night all!
Anne, still shivering, in Toronto  :chrispup:

interesting to see how the gradual approach works. I like it a LOT!  The year I did it, to two random trees, one in a park and one in an apartment building front yard, it was an all-out festooning at midnight; people did mess with it some, but in neither case was it treated badly.

Good job Anne!   :clap:

 
Well, I witnessed some interesting events this morning!  I may have dreamed some of this, being half-asleep...but I don’t think so!!  It really was better than a dream!  And, it was way, way too cold and windy!!  :shiver:

First, my three “ornaments of great worth”, the Santa, the Snowflake and the Gaudy Dough Star :star: were still there and waving in the wind.  But, curiously, the  GD Star :star: had changed position – was higher and to the left!!  Hmmmm...

Secondly, my 3 ornaments had been joined by 2 more!!  A very long construction paper loop chain, of red, green and yellow – someone’s patient work!  The wind wasn’t being kind, but it still added colour!  But it was the second ornament that really caught my attention – a shiny blue and white Star of David!!  It looked homemade -- a fond treasure from someone’s life. And it belonged!  :party:

So now there are 5 dedicated ornaments adorning our tree!  And, I am not alone! :heartspin:

Now – The Audience!  Few work-bound grown-ups bothered to lift their heads as they headed into the cold wind... They were too cold...  Cold, old adults...  But the children!  They were all looking up at the tree!  And they were excited!!  Can you imagine snowsuited little balls of energy pointing and jumping around?  For 5 homemade ornaments!!  Even the older kids were pointing and shoving each other around!  And no child passed without looking!  Even the “children delivery” people were enjoying themselves!   For 5 bright ornaments!!   And I was glued to my spot across the street, with a huge grin on my face, watching in amazement...work forgotten...   The crossing guard, a puzzled looking little fellow, finally wandered over and asked me, in broken English, “This happen much yes?”.  To which I could only reply , “Yep – somewhere in this world, this always happens!”.

I do owe an apology to the crossing guards!  They were working hard at maintaining some kind of safe order, without complaint, as this crowded corner of a busy street was causing some problems...   For 5 shared ornaments!!  They were being very tolerant!  Next year, the tree will be away from a corner...but it’s too late to make a change now.   It’s been noticed and would be missed, I’d like to think...

Let’s see... In the end there will be about 18 decorations!  How amazing that this tiny display can cheer a large group of people, when City Hall spends millions of dollars for their display and ours is free...loved...and, well, priceless!!  :party:

Anne in Toronto  :christree:

Anne, I'm loving hearing of your stealth tree trimming. You should take a picture and show us what it looks like, but maybe not until you (and you helper/helpers) have had a chance to do some more decorating!

Jan in CT

 :clap:

Anne-I love this story!  Thanks for sharing it with us and I can't wait to hear more!  :clap:

I second that - I'd love to see a picture!!!  dale

 :angel:  :2thumbsup:

 Oh Shaky...  Why do I sense sarcasm dripping off the page?  Sorry you're still annoyed...  I understand and can accept that... *sigh*

Anne in Toronto

Nah, Shaky's not annoyed.  That's him being happy.   :happy:

I guess some of you didn't see my first post...  Here's what I said and I'm afraid that I still feel very strongly about this...  It's why I have gone to such lengths to describe the whole adventure to all of you...tried to give you a feeling of the emotions that it's exuding...

"I also thought about taking daily photographs, but decided that things like this are best left to the imagination...  That my memories will always be much clearer than a photograph.  Because a photo wouldn't capture my reasons for doing this, the feelings that others may have..."

I'm sorry if you are disappointed...  Use your mind's eye to see this tiny incursion into my surrounding neighbourhood.  Sorry...

Anne in Toronto

I'm heading out in a few minutes to hang my next contribution...a fairly large candy cane, skillfully crafted by a (then) 7 year old nephew...

 I would like to believe that Carol... You know him a whole lot better than I do...  Thanks!

Anne in Toronto

See what fun you've started  :2thumbsup:
Carol

 Still cold outside!  But the wind has gone down quite a bit.  All the decorations are still there and I attempted to anchor the construction paper loop chain in place better...  It had been broken into 3 pieces by the wind, so I just spread the colour around some.  I think it will stay put now...as long as we don’t get any snow...  We’ll cross that bridge if and when...  I can always make another, if the person responsible for it doesn’t replace it.  There was no one around and no further ornaments – but the last two arrived after my rather late visit last night...  More night owls, eh!   Anyway, I tied the Candy Cane up as high as I could, with some good strong red ribbon, so that it won’t blow around with the wind.  Looked good!  I’m really surprised that all have remained in situ...  Is there some kind of aura that goes along with festive projects that protects them?  Frankly, I’m surprised that there hasn’t been some kind of interference!  Feels good!  But I’m not unrealistic, either!  What will be, will be.  :party:

Night all!

Anne in Toronto

No sarcasm. Just my approval of a great job.

Kudos!

You're doing a really good thing Anne!  Bringing joy to yourself and others.  That can NEVER be bad. 

Thanks for sharing this with us.

Christmas Carol P.    :snow2: 

Thanks, Shaky.  I really do appreciate your comment!  Sorry I've grown skeptical in my old age...guess I'd better work on that!

Anne in Toronto

This morning, I dashed past the tree, on the other side of the street -- partly because it was extremely cold outside and partly because I was late for work...  But I came to a dead stop, after taking a quick glance!

Another construction paper loop chain, a really long one, now in blue, white, red and green, circles the tree -- perhaps a chain to unite the different religions, in this holiday season.  And, a fairly large Peace Symbol -- about 8 inches across!  I think it's probably made of the same dough that my gaudy dough star  :star:  is...but I wasn't close enough to really be able to tell...  It's heavy, isn't moving in the wind very much. So the decoration count is up to 8 items!!  It's really pleasing that all the items are homemade!  And that they are all still accounted for!

I think the main bulk of the children had already passed and I was really running late, so didn't pause long, but there were still 12 of them, plus minders, and the children were pointing and running around.  Obviously still pleased!  I was still feeling a little guilty at the problems this is causing the crossing guards...  But, after chatting with the lady crossing guard, it would seem that they really don't mind and are interested in the tree, too!  So I feel somewhat relieved.  And so off I went, trying to decide which decoration I should put up tonight.... :party:

Anne in Toronto  :chrispup:  One funny little sidebar -- there were patients, out in our waitingroom, talking about the tree!!  :clap:

I personally would hope that the missing items were on temporary loan from their owners and needed to return home.  But I can be a bit of a Pollyanna at times.

The only thing I can think of that would be "easy" is to find an appropriate picture or card that could be printed in many multiples, punch a hole, tie on a ribbon, and add it to the tree.  For each item that's removed, add X number of replacements without comment.  If it happens again, repeat.  The message will get through.

And thank you for sharing this with us!

Ei

I suppose that's a more charitable way of looking at it than simply thinking that somebody is a *JERK*, sigh...
What if "someone" wrote to the local newspaper, saying how much they'd enjoyed the appearances of the ornaments, and sadness that someone apparently didn't like them?
Carol

I'd like to think that someone needed decorations for their own tree and borrowed them and now there are happy children looking at their decorated Christmas tree.

I was just at my neighbors for a few hours, (elderly) and put their tree up and other decorations. Margaret said, "oh dear should we decorate it, it looks nice just with the lights!" I said, of course, I'll go get the decorations. Well, after all done, it looked beautiful. I loved the smiles on her and her brothers faces when it was all done.

This is a pic of the tree but it was taken with my cell....no flash, you get the idea. I left there with a smile also!

 :clap:

I haven't done anything tonight.  Just too tired after work, family obligations and, yes, some disappointment.  But, I just can't think badly about this brief episode.  It was lots of fun of me, while it lasted and for a few days some neighbours were cheered.  That's great in itself!

It's still early in December, so I've decided to wait a week or so and take another stab at this, because I am very fond of this area -- have lived here for 31 years and everyone has always been very kind and helpful to Kevin and I, and especially to me the last 8 months.  And I really like Ei's idea of a  "card", but I think, with so many people in my neigbourhood being new immigrants to Canada, I'm going to try to spread some light-hearted good feelings, emphasize general good will towards one's neighbours, despite our cultural differences.  Nothing heavy, just some good, light-hearted cheer!  After all, that's how it started out!  :handshake:

Thanks for your support!

Anne in Toronto

Anne, are you out there?  Haven't heard from you in awhile...

Patti

Hi Patti,

Thanks for asking.  I'm in Iowa, visiting Nora!  We spent the afternoon up in Houston MN, having lunch with Karla and being entertained by Alice the G-H Owl!!  What a wonderful time!  I will be home on the 2nd of January and will set up a Kodak Album to show the photos.  Alice graced us both by sitting on our knees!  What a trip!!

Thanks again for asking after me! 

Anne in Toronto