Marion Department of Public Works employees planted a concolor fir that will serve as the town’s new Christmas tree Friday afternoon, but damage the tree suffered during transport will compromise its vitality.

For luck, Danielle Francis, of Marion, tossed a quarter into the earth where the tree was placed, though her gesture may have been in vain.

“It’s going to take a lot more than luck,” Tree and Parks Committee member Steve Gonsalves said, for the tree to to stay healthy.

Currently, a representative from Bartlett Tree Experts, a residential and commercial tree service, will monitor the tree for signs of illness. In a few weeks, the committee should know whether it can be saved.

Gonsalves, who operates Eden Landscaping, offered to sell the tree at wholesale price to the town. It cost $2,000, paid for with funds raised last year by the committee.

Watching the damage as it happened was difficult he said.

"It was a horrible thing to witness," he said. "I've been in the industry for 25 years and that literally made me sick to my stomach."

As a crane lifted the fir, an unexpected weight shift caused the cage that held the tree's roots to tear away trunk bark. The technique - called "girdling" - will kill a tree, unless it can bridge the wound. Essential nutrients and water are unable to move from root to branch when a tree is girdled.

The damage is unfortunate, but Gonsalves said he was grateful no one was injured.

He called it an accident and praised members of the Department of Public Works for their hard work.

"Everybody did their best things just didn't go well. There's no one to blame. It's just an unfortunate accident," Gonsalves said.

Looking ahead, tree committee members will be taking a "wait and see" approach to the situation Gonsalves said. If the tree needs to be replaced the committee is prepared to move forward he said.

The concolor fir replaces the blue spruce that served as the town’s Christmas tree since 1991. At the time, the spruce was transferred to the park with the help of a donation from a local resident. Hurricane Bob felled the previous tree.

Old age and disease made the spruce unsuitable for the annual tree lighting ceremony.

The ceremony, held in early December, has been a local holiday tradition for 36 years hosted in Bicentennial Park.