The perfect Christmas tree, discovered in NC mountains

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Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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Via BooneWeb:

The Winston-Salem Journal has the story:

CRESTON — The crowd clustered expectantly in the chilly mountain air yesterday as a team from Washington arrived to select the official White House Christmas tree.

The group rode a hay-filled trailer pulled by a tractor up a steep, winding gravel road to a grassy hillside dotted with the tallest trees among the 1 million Fraser firs of River Ridge Tree Farms. They were rewarded with a close-up view of the leaf-colored-beauty of The Peak, which rises up 5,159 feet on the other side of the main road, making it Ashe County’s highest mountain.

More than 100 people moved away from the steep drop-off as the White House car drove up near the tall trees. Stepping out were the White House’s chief usher, Stephen Rochon, a retired admiral; Dale Haney, the superintendent of the White House grounds; and Nancy Clarke, the White House’s chief floral designer.

“So what are we doing here today?” Rochon joked with the crowd.

As they started walking toward the trees and the crowd moved with them, 4-year-old Athena Estes told him and everyone else:

“We have a lot of trees for you to look at,” said Athena, the granddaughter of Rusty Estes, one of the tree-farm owners. “Let’s go, everybody.”

The crowd laughed and moved on. The White House team quickly found a nice tree — just the right height, with fragrant, perfectly symmetrical branches. But Clarke tugged on the branches and thought that they might not be sturdy enough to hold of some of the 400-plus ornaments.

“This is a beautiful tree, but I think it might be a little soft,” she said.

The crowd all walked down a hill, then back up.

“How does North Carolina keep growing these perfect trees?” asked Rochon, who was in Ashe County last year to pick the 2007 White House tree.

“That’s to keep the White House coming back,” said Jessie Davis, a co-owner of River Ridge Tree Farms.

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

  • 1

1 Comment

  1. greenashevilleblogspot.com October 23, 2008

    Awe, don’t it make you all soft inside. They should get Bush to cut it down since he always likes to walk around looking like a cowboy clearing brush on his ranch with his big belt buckle. I bet he doesn’t even know how to start a chainsaw.

    Reply

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