It's been standing in the same place for over 50 years, and sometimes you need a change of scenery.

A 30-foot, live blue spruce traveled from Tihonet Village to its new home on the front lawn of Town Hall on Tuesday morning, a short but unusual trip that stopped traffic and drew curious onlookers.

Donated by the A.D. Makepeace Co., the tree was planted on the Town Hall lawn and will be used in the town's Winter Celebration.  A tree-lighting ceremony will be held on December 11, at 4:30 p.m. after the Wareham Village Association's Holiday Parade arrives from Main Street at Town Hall.

Michael Hogan, President of the A.D. Makepeace Co., said that the donation was at the request of Town Administrator Mark Andrews.

Hogan joked that he received a call from Andrews asking if the company had a Christmas tree on their land.  "Yeah, we've got a few trees around," Hogan replied.

In fact, Hogan said that the company has had their eye on the tree that was selected as the perfect Christmas tree "for years."

So how do you move a 30-foot tree?

It was a complicated process.  A crew of six landscapers from Joyce Landscaping and Bartlett Tree Company arrived with a flatbed truck mounted on its rear with a special set of "spades" that operated on hydraulics.

When held together, the four spades looked like a large screw head.  But they could be spread apart and also opened like a door to wrap around the trunk of a tree.  Then the spades would be pushed into the ground and closed like a fist around the tree's root ball.

The landscapers first used the device to dig the hole where the tree was to be placed.

Next the truck went to pick up the tree.

On Friday, A.D. Makepeace had already pruned the tree (which was formerly located in the clearing across the street from the entrance to Tihonet Village) and wrapped some of its branches so it would be easier to transport.

The truck picked up the tree and its root ball (which was almost exactly the right shape and size of its hole since the same tool was used to dig out both) and then laid it on the flatbed of the truck.  The [olice-escorted trip down Tihonet Road, around the common, and down Gibbs Avenue had been planned so that they wouldn't have to disconnect any overhead wires, and the tree arrived at Town Hall about 20 minutes later.

The truck then repositioned itself exactly where it had been when it dug up the hole, raised the tree to an upright, vertical position, and lowered it into its new location.

Amazingly, the landscapers were able to adjust the tree as it was placed in its hole - mimicking the scene that happens in many homes every Christmas season, except on a much larger scale... and not having to worry about scratching the ceiling!

Now comes the tough part, though.  Chris Ierardi, the A.D. Makepeace Property Manager and point-person for the project, said that the success rate for a tree this large surviving the transplanting is "about 60-40."

"The bigger the tree, the less the success rate," he said, explaining that a younger trees have faster growth rates and thus more rapidly send out roots to anchor it firmly into the soil and draw up the necessary water and nutrients to help the tree become established.

But he said that the November 23 date was the best time possible for the tree to be moved: it was after a killing frost so the tree was in a state of dormancy, thus it wasn't expending energy to grow while also trying to adapt to its new surroundings.

Before leaving, the crew mulched around the tree, pruned its branches and staked it in the ground.

In total, the tree was out of the ground for only about 45 minutes.