SEASON'S GREENING

THE LIGHTING OF the tree has evolved into the town-gown event of the season. Hundreds gather on the Green to watch a local child flip the switch. (Traditionally, the Student Assembly president had the honor, but last year an administrator's little boy did the job to great applause.) Green Key provides lyric sheets for carols, the Dartmouth Dining Association makes hot chocolate, and the Glee Club leads the singing. On Main Street, shopkeepers costume themselves in Dickensian garb while a strolling tuba band serenades shoppers. President Freedman hosts his annual holiday party for students in Webster Hall, and Santa Claus holds court in the Hanover Inn's Hayward Lounge. (Behind the beard is an alumnus realtor who can be heard to say, "Are you the little girl who lives in that Dutch colonial up by the reservoir?")

Although it's hard to imagine a New England green without a Christmas tree, Hanover's tradition is not terribly old; the first official tree appears to have gone up in 1940. For the past quarter century, the chief tree scout was Dartmouth Grounds Foreman Bernard Godfrey. He compiled a list of people willing to sell or donate 50- foot specimens (trees are deductible). In mid-October he toured local forests (and, sometimes, lawns) before making his final choice. "Some of the guys prefer spruce," says Godfrey, who retired shortly after making this year's selection. "But I think balsam fir is the best."