A tall tree heading from the West Coast to the U.S. Capitol will be trucked through northern Iowa this month. The 65-foot-tall Capitol Christmas Tree will be cut from the Bridger-Teton National Forest in western Wyoming and hauled through ten states in 20 days before being presented to Congress on November 29th in Washington D.C.
It will stop in Britt, Iowa, on Sunday, November 21st. Britt City Clerk Jeanie Purvis says the stop was arranged by the forest service district manager at Bridger-Teton as he has relatives in the area.
She says the city thanks Josh Sorenson for the opportunity so Britt can be the state’s lone representative in hosting a stop for the tree. Purvis says the Britt Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring a breakfast and they’re making packages with snacks and souvenirs for those who are traveling with the tree to Washington. She says Sorenson will explain the process of choosing the Capitol’s tree for 2010.
He’ll explain how they were picked and the whole process they had to go through to get the tree from the forest to Washington D.C. There will be a banner people can sign and ornaments will be hung on the outside of the tree. Grade schoolers are also making Christmas cards that will accompany the tree and be taken to the White House. Purvis says the town of Britt is honored to be hosting the tree, even though it will only be there for a very short time.
She says the tree will arrive, weather permitting, at 7:45 AM and be back on the road at 9:30, but the community will make the most of that time. Purvis says dignitaries have been invited to take part in the stop, including Governor Culver.
For more information about the Capitol Tree’s trek, visit: www.capitolchristmastree2010.org
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City