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This year’s Lewiston Christmas tree, a 48-foot blue spruce tree cut down from a property on Sabattus Street, is lowered into place Tuesday morning at Dufresne Plaza.

LEWISTON — Holding back tears Tuesday morning, Tina (Banaitis) Cote talked about a 48-foot blue spruce tree just cut at 458 Sabattus St. and the memories it sparked in her.

Amber Wolf stands next to a blue spruce tree in her backyard at 458 Sabattus St. in Lewiston on the first day of school in 1994. Her mother took her photo every year in front of the tree, which held so many special memories for the family. The tree was cut down Tuesday to become the city of Lewiston Christmas tree in Dufresne Plaza. (Courtesy photo)

Cote, who lives in Wells, had just been informed that the tree her family planted in the early 1990s when living at the property is Lewiston’s 2025 Christmas tree in Dufresne Plaza.

City arborist Steve Murch spied the beauty this past summer while looking for candidates for this year’s tree. The property owner, Etienne Nduwayo, didn’t hesitate to say yes.

“It’s a pleasure to contribute to the community,” he said as he and Murch watched the tree being lifted into the air Tuesday morning. “I’m honored to have been able to do this for the city of Lewiston.”

It was made possible by Cote’s daughter Amber, who won the tree in a raffle at a Castonguay-St. Pierre family reunion in Jay in 1992.

Cote’s Pepere Bert and Memere Rita Castonguay came to help plant it.

The tree came from their family tree farm, Christmas Tree Heights in Rumford. Every year the family looked forward to receiving a tree and enjoyed planting them to honor their relatives.

Now that the Castonguays are gone, hearing that this particular tree was going to be used for such a noble purpose made Cote’s day. The memories it sparked put her in the holiday spirit, she said, and she’ll be sharing the story with family members near and far.

“We always come back to Lewiston for the FEZtival of Trees, and can’t wait to visit the tree and have our photos taken in front of our tree,” she said.

Lewiston’s city arborist, Steve Murch, right, and utility arborist, Caelan Pelletier, help guide a 4,000-pound blue spruce tree onto a tractor trailer for transport to Dufresne Plaza to become the city’s Christmas tree.
Lewiston highway operations manager Reggie Poussard counts 32 rings Tuesday on the city’s Christmas tree, a 48-foot blue spruce.
Lewiston Public Works employees push a utility wire over the 4,000-pound blue spruce Tuesday at the five corners intersection on Sabattus Street. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)
Caelan Pelletier, a utility arborist for the city of Lewiston, cuts a 48-foot blue spruce tree Tuesday at 458 Sabattus St. in Lewiston. Soon after, it was transported to Dufresne Plaza to become the 2025 city Christmas tree. (Russ Dillingham/Staff Photographer)
Lewiston highway operations manager Reggie Poussard checks Tuesday morning to see if the city Christmas tree is straight while Public Works employees set it in place at Dufresne Plaza in downtown Lewiston.
Crys’Dawna Cusson, city of Lewiston executive assistant, right, records Public Works crews installing the 2025 Christmas tree in Dufresne Plaza Tuesday morning. Next to her are Public Works Director Kevin Gagne and Angelynne Amores, director of Marketing & Communications for the city.
Lewiston City Arborist Steve Murch tries to release a tarp caught on a traffic signal Tuesday as the city’s giant blue spruce Christmas tree passes through an intersection on Sabattus Street.
Caelan Pelletier looks in his rearview mirror as he gets signals to inch forward Tuesday morning as co-workers from Lewiston Public Works try to release a tarp covering the 48-foot blue spruce caught on a street sign at the five corners intersection on Sabattus Street. “This was definitely the longest trip since I’ve been doing this,” he said after arriving at Dufresne Plaza.
Lewiston Public Works employees Danny May, left, and Nick Lebrasseur affix a star at the top of a 48-foot blue spruce tree in Dufresne Plaza on a foggy Wednesday morning in Lewiston. The tree will be wrapped in nearly 2,000 new lights that blink. The city will hold its annual Holiday At The Plaza celebration from 12-5 p.m. on Dec. 6 in Dufresne Plaza. The tree lighting will be at 4:17 p.m.

A lifelong resident of Lewiston, Russ stumbled into photography as a college student working toward a career in psychology. His great-grandfather Louis B. Costello was the publisher of the Lewiston Daily...