By Sarah Roman
Staff Writer
It was the winter of 1984 and a young sophomore, Patricia (Whittaker) Green, just found out that she would be the first angel in the first Singing Christmas Tree.
“I tried out, and I wasn’t expecting much to come of it,” said Green, who graduated from Shores in 1987. “Nobody had seen the tree; it hadn’t even been built yet.”
After Green tried out for the Tree angel, she walked into class the next day, and she saw a tree on the board with names written on it.
“I looked for my name, and I couldn’t find it, and then, I saw my name at the top of the tree,” Green explained as she laughed at the memory. ”I thought to myself, how did I get this honor? This is so cool.”
Green said there was no rhyme or reason to why she was chosen.
“I wish I could say I was this amazing singer, but I wasn’t,” Green said. “I want to go back and ask him (choir director Skip Frizzell) why I was chosen.”
Green said she was the first person to see the tree after it was built because the choir teacher wanted her to climb the tree and take her spot at the top.
“Climbing the ladder and looking was amazing. I didn’t realize how high it was going to be,” Green said. “The space was small, but it was so cool to be on top.”
The Tree has evolved from the first one: the Tree Angel is now always a senior, and Green was only a sophomore when she was given the honor.
“One of my favorite things to do while I was standing on top was to sway,” Green laughed. “I would watch the people below me look scared as the entire tree shook.”
As an adult, Green said she likes to watch the Tree, which is now at the Frauenthal Theatre in downtown Muskegon although she doesn’t go as often as she would like.
“It’s so amazing to be apart of the alumni and watch the kids continue on the tradition,” Green said. “It blows my mind that I got to be a part of the very first one.”
Patricia Whittaker, a young sophomore, outgoing and brave, was the first Tree Angel. Little did she know that this idea of a giant Christmas tree would turn into something huge and something worth celebrating.