On several occasions, the tree has been donated to Rockefeller Center. In 1956, for example, a New Hampshire man gave a white spruce to New York's governor, who handed it over to the tree's organizers. Ten years later, the nation of Canada decided to give over one of their trees. But most of the time, it has been purposefully sought out. For a long while, David Murbach, who was the center's garden manager before he passed away late last year, used to rent a car and take scenic drives through New England in order to find the finest specimen. More recently, though, Rockefeller Center's crew has taken a helicopter into New England to locate the perfect tree from aloft.