Hoover Library features Christmas tree display

Like it or not, December’s here and so is the Yuletide season of jingle bells, deep snowfall and brightly decorated trees. A large and unusual collection of Christmas trees past and present is now on display at the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum. Janlyn Ewald is spokeswoman for the facility in West Branch and the exhibit called “Christmas Through the Decades.” The exhibit features 22 decorated trees, most of which represent a decade in time, starting with 1840 and moving forward to 2000. Ewald says the oldest-style tree from about 160 years ago is much different than today’s trees — for starters, it’s decorated with nuts, cranberries, popcorn, holly berries and flowers. She says the average home wouldn’t have had a tree, and if it did, the residents would’ve eaten the food off the tree.The tree representing the 2000-decade is made entirely of fiber optics and is seven feet tall. Ewald says there are plenty of others that’ll strike memories in visitors.The Hoover Library and Museum is open daily from 9 A-M to 5 P-M — every day but Christmas and New Year’s Day. For more information, call 800 828-0475.