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A crowd gathers last night at Culpeper's historic train depot to peer through a plastic tarp and glimpse the Highland County red spruce being trucked to the U.S. Capitol's lawn for its Christmas display. |
Even if the actual holiday is still more than a month away, last night felt like Christmas in Culpeper.
The air was cold, the music was inspiring and a general sense of holiday spirit prevailed as more than 300 people gathered at the Depot to celebrate the arrival of the National Capitol Christmas Tree.
"It's exciting," exclaimed Dawn Miller. "I think it's probably a once-in-a-lifetime event to see the National Christmas Tree here in Culpeper."
Culpeper was the first overnight stop for the 70-foot red spruce, which was cut in Highland County on Election Day and left Monterey yesterday morning about 6:30.
Preceded by Santa Claus and his wife, the 92-foot-long tractor-trailer transporting the tree on a 34-stop tour of the state rolled into the railroad station's parking lot amid oohs and aahs from the crowd--especially when the big rig, trying to negotiate the sharp curve coming off Davis Street, almost took out the first row of spectators.
Once parked, small holes in the plastic covering were opened and the spectators got a glimpse of the tree that will be part of America's Christmas celebration in Washington next month.
The tree, which grew wild in George Washington National Forest, will be the first National Capitol Christmas Tree to come from Virginia since the tradition began in 1964.
"Yes, Virginia, we're going to deliver the tree to the Capitol this year," proclaimed Attorney General Jerry Kilgore during the tree-welcoming ceremony.
State Sen. Edd Houck, D-Spotsylvania, declared that it was entirely appropriate the tree came from Virginia because of the state's thriving forestry industry. Del. Ed Scott, R-Culpeper, said the spruce was a symbol of Virginia agribusiness.
The eventual passing of a 50-car freight train, however, drew more applause than any of the assembled politicians.
The roar of the engine and the thunderous rattle of the ensuing cars behind the speaker's platform came in the middle of Mayor Pranas Rimeikis' speech and kept the politician silent for several minutes.
When the train had moved on down the tracks, Rimeikis accepted holiday ornaments made by local children that will be placed on the Capitol Tree.
Among those presented were all-weather apples made by 4-year-olds at the Culpeper County Library's story time.
More than 4,500 Virginia-made ornaments will grace the tree after it is placed on the U.S. Capitol's lawn. A tree-lighting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 9.
While spectators could see little of the well-protected red spruce, most thought it was exciting just to be in the presence of the National Capitol Tree.
"It's really cool," said 7-year-old Allyssa Smallwood, a second-grader at A.G. Richardson Elementary School.
Upon further consideration, however, Allyssa admitted that the presence of Santa Claus excited her more than the tree.
Culpeper was actually yesterday's third stop for the holiday tree. After leaving Monterey, Virginia's Christmas tree entourage traveled first to Winchester and then to Leesburg.
During the coming days, the tree will crisscross the state so that Virginians from Tidewater to Wise County will be able to catch a glimpse.
While it travels, the tree will be watered by a large "bladder" positioned at its base in the plastic-covered trailer. Two days after being cut, the tree absorbed 150 gallons of water, according to Donna Wilson, spokeswoman for the George Washington and Jefferson national forests.
Now, it takes only about 30 gallons of water per day to keep the tree from drying out, Wilson said.
The theme for this year's tree is "From Virginia--Birthplace of Presidents."
To reach DONNIE JOHNSTON: DJohn40330@aol.com
