From 8 a.m. &045; when crews arrived to cut down a 40-foot cedar tree &045; to about 4 p.m. &045; when it was finally erected downtown &045; Charles Moroney was watching the work.

Natchez’s downtown Christmas tree comes courtesy of Moroney’s backyard in Adams County, and he wanted to make sure everything was perfect.

&uot;I can’t stand it when a tree doesn’t stand up straight,&uot; he said.

So after a long day watching the tree be cut down, trucked the 10 miles or so to the intersection of Main and Commerce, and dangled in the air until it could be installed in its tree stand, Moroney was pleased.

&uot;I’m satisfied,&uot; he said. &uot;This is the right tree for this purpose.&uot;

Moroney’s son Curtis, who works at Britton & Koontz Bank, at the same intersection where the tree will stand for the next few weeks, remembers when the tree was planted.

&uot;I’ve been weed-eating around that tree for 15 or 20 years,&uot; he said.

And Curtis Moroney also remembers his father’s attention to perfection when it comes to Christmas trees. Whether it was cutting the trunk just right, placing it straight in the stand or even drilling holes to transplant branches from other trees, Moroney &045; an architect &045; had to make sure the holiday tree was perfect. &uot;That’s what you do with a Moroney tree,&uot; Curtis laughed.

And a Natchez tree, of course, sits in the middle of one of downtown’s busiest intersections.

Frank and Patricia Thiel, tourists from Painted Post, N.Y., stood watching crews maneuver the tall, wide tree into its stand. &uot;We’ve never seen anything quite like this,&uot; said Patricia Thiel, who was surprised to learn motorists simply drive around the tree.

The time to cut down and install the tree was donated by Pickett Industries, Entergy and Edgin Construction.

New lights will be strung on the tree this morning, paid for by a joint fund of the Natchez Kiwanis Club and First Natchez Radio. The tree lighting will be held at 5 p.m. Friday.