White House Christmas Tree in the Blue Room
Official Live Yuletime Tree is Presented to Obamas by Its Growers
This uninterrupted tradition of a member of the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) presenting the First Lady with a Chistmas tree for the White House dates back to 1966 when Lady Bird Johnson was the First Lady and Lyndon B. Johnson was president.. This year, Michelle Obama will receive her first Christmas tree as the First Lady. Eric and Gloria Sundback, winners of the 2009 NCTA competition, will present the tree they grew to her. It is a Fraser Fir that was planted in 1996 on their tree farm near Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
Actual Tree Was Chosen in October
The Floral Department of the White House and volunteers will decorate the tree. In October, Coast Guard Rear Adm. Stephen Rochon, chief usher at the White House, and Dale Haney, superintendent of the White House grounds, went to the Sundback's tree farm to choose the official White House Christmas tree. The tree for the Blue Room is always the official White House Christmas tree. However, for many years there have always been others in the White House. This year there will be at least 24 trees in addition to the one in the Blue Room.
The Christmas tree in the Blue Room is always 18 feet five inches tall, explained Rick Dungey, spokesperson for the NCTA, because the power source for the Christmas tree lights is in the ceiling of the room. Therefore, the tree must reach all the way up. And since the Sundback tree is 19 feet tall, it will be sheared by six inches. It will be cut shortly before it is scheduled to be delivered to the White House, where it will be delivered by truck the week of Thanksgiving.
The Sundbacks Are Four – Time Winners
This is the fourth Christmas tree the Sundbacks will present to occupants of the White House. No tree growers have won the presentation honors more often than they have. In 1979 they presented a Douglas Fir from their farm that was then in western Pennsylvania to Rosalynn Carter when Jimmy Carter was president. And when Nancy Reagan was First Lady and Ronald Reagan was president they presented two trees from their farm near Shepherdstown: a Douglas Fir in 1981and a Fraser Fir in 1987.
Becoming Grand Champion is a three – step process. First, the tree has to win a local or regional contest sponsored by Christmas tree growers. Then those winners compete each summer at the annual NCTA convention. Contestants cut down a representative smaller tree and take it to the convention. Conventioneers select the top trees in five species: True Fir, Douglas Fir, Spruce, Pine, and Other. Finally, for the 2009 contest a panel of 20 individuals who were not part of the Christmas tree industry selected the Grand Champion.
Sundbacks Began in the 1950s – Now Concentrate on Tree Seeds
The Sundbacks began successfully growing Christmas trees in 1956 on a farm in western Pennsylvania. Later, Eric's job as a landscape architect led him to Washington, D. C., where they found land near Shepherdstown for growing trees (Gloria has worked as a chemist.). For many years they had a retail business selling trees in Washington and Bethesda, Maryland. Through the years they have sold trees to notable individuals, including Ethel Kennedy and the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy and Eunice Kennedy Shriver..
Today two former employees run the retail business. Now the Sundbacks concentrate on producing seeds for Christmas trees.They scout trees in the wild and collect pine cones bearing the seeds forthe trees. According to an article in the Los Angeles Times, the tree qualities they concentrate on are color, texture and strong branches,Now, as these prize – winning tree growers prepare to go to the White House again, Gloria said: It is always an exciting time and it is interesting to meet all the First Ladies."
Sources:
- Fiore, Fay. "An Evergreen State of Mind." Los Angeles Times. October 8, 2009. 18 November 2009.
- Raby, John. "W. Va. Farm to Provide White House Christmas Tree." Associated Press article in the Charleston Gazette. August 26, 2009. 19 November 2009.
Related Article:
The First Christmas Trees in the White House
A Fraser Fir is the '09 Official Christmas Tree
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