In the front parlor window of LeRoy House is our Victorian tree.  This is the tree traditionally that we share with the students from Wolcott Street School, but alas, this year is different.  But here is the story about our Victorian tree.  We really don’t know when the first Christmas tree was decorated at LeRoy House.  There is no mention of a tree in any of the files that we have.  Trees decorated with toys and candles became more popular after an illustration appeared in Godey’s Lady’s Magazine, in 1850.  It showed an American family standing around a decorated tree on a table. The illustration was actually taken from an English illustration, in 1848, of Queen Victoria and her family around a similar tree.  The Queen’s husband, Prince Albert, was from Germany, and the tradition of the Christmas tree has strong connections in many German towns.  The American illustration, was identical to the English version, except . . .