Vermont provided the very first National Christmas Tree (a 48-foot balsam fir) for the White House in 1923, when Calvin Coolidge was president. This year, a 60 year-old Balsam fir from Vermont will be the Capitol Christmas Tree in Washington D.C..
This year's Capitol Christmas Tree is a gift from the people of Vermont. The Bennington Chamber of Commerce, Green Mountain National Forest, and their many partners all worked to safely deliver this prestigious tree to the nation's capitol this holiday season.
As noted in the Vermont Life Magazine article on the tree, this is actually the fifth time that Vermont has provided a tree to Washington, D.C. Our state is continuing the tradition we began in 1967, 1980, 1982, 1994 and now 2007. Our tree is a balsam fir coming from the Green Mountain National Forest. What makes this especially exciting is that the Green Mountain National Forest is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2007.
Bennington tree committee members David Dsido, Joann Erenhouse and Jim White visit the chosen tree before its trip to Washington. Photo - Vermont Life Magazine
The 55-foot balsam fir tree harvested in November from Somerset, Vermont, finished a seven-day, seven-state, 600-mile tour November 26 at the U.S. Capitol Building. The Capitol Christmas Tree, which is also known as ``The People's Tree,” is being decorated with ornaments from all 50 states.
The tree and 65 smaller trees were taken to Washington by a caravan of several trucks and an accompanying bus. The tree committee stopped at a different veterans home every day, handing out holiday cards to the veterans and coffee mugs decorated with the logo of the decommissioned aircraft carrier, the USS Bennington.
To read Tony Marro’s story about growing and nurturing the Capitol Christmas Tree, pick up a copy of Vermont Life Magazine or visit the Vermont Life Web site.
Watch The Video
See the tree cutting ceremony as it begins its journey to Washington.
Video by Marcelle Langan DiFalco, Creative Director, Vermont Creative Initiative Project
You can see pictures of the tree, how it was cared for and follow the caravan as it makes its way to Washington at the official Capitol Christmas Tree 2007 site. If you’d like to get your own, fresh-cut Vermont Christmas tree this year The Vermont Agency of Agriculture has a listing of cut-it-yourself tree farms.
