- Slug: BC-CNS-Arizona’s Tree,535
- Multimedia: Flash video for computers; YouTube video for mobile devices.
- With: BC-CNS-Arizona’s Tree-Box
- Photos available (thumbnails, captions below)
By ALEXANDER MacLEAN
Cronkite News Service
ALPINE (Tuesday, Sept. 15) _ Jay Luger hasn’t seen so much attention focused on this eastern Arizona hamlet since the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reintroduced Mexican gray wolves in 1998, sparking complaints from local ranchers.
“But that was a different kind of attention,” Luger said.
The Christmas tree that will stand in front of the U.S. Capitol will come from the forest near here, and people in Alpine and up the road in Springerville and Eagar say they are excited to show the nation that Arizona offers more than just deserts and cactuses.
“The recognition is well-deserved,” Luger said as he sipped coffee last week at the Bear Wallow Cafe. “It’s a beautiful area, and we’re lucky to live here.”
At Alpine Elementary School, students in Cynthia Lavender’s third- and fourth-grade class were busy making ornaments that will hang from the tree in Washington, D.C.
“When I told them we were going to be doing something special and wrote ‘Capitol Christmas Tree’ on the board, they thought it was so cool,” she said.
The tree, selected from 10 finalists in Arizona, is an 85-foot blue spruce in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests. U.S. Forest Service personnel agreed to take Cronkite News Service reporters to see the tree on the condition that they not reveal its exact location.
“This tree will be a gift from Arizona to the nation and will represent us,” said Rick Davalos, the Forest Service’s Alpine district ranger now tasked to oversee the tree. “It’s something we should all take pride in.”
The lucky tree, estimated to be between 100 and 125 years old, gets the ax at a Nov. 7 ceremony.
Davalos said the blue spruce, found at higher elevations in eastern Arizona, was a natural choice because of its full crown. The Englemann spruce, Douglas fir and white fir were among other trees considered.
The Ponderosa pine, which is abundant across Arizona, wasn’t in the running because it doesn’t have a Christmas tree’s profile.
“People will view the tree from all angles, so it was important to find one that was nice and full,” Davalos said.
The Forest Service provides the Capitol Christmas Tree from a different state each year. This is Arizona’s first time providing the tree.
With Gov. Jan Brewer serving as honorary chairwoman, Arizona’s celebration of the tree includes schoolchildren making 5,000 ornaments to accompany it.
Eagar Mayor Kim Holaway said her community is working with neighboring Springerville to plan a sendoff. Plans are still up in the air, but she said churches and Boy Scout troops have expressed interest in participating.
“I think as our activities are planned out and we start to do more promotion, there will be a lot of excitement in our communities,” Holaway said.
Eagar will be the first stop as the tree travels around Arizona before heading on a cross-country tour, making stops along the way.
“A large portion of Arizona is forested, and it’s beautiful,” Holaway said. “People that haven’t had the opportunity to visit Arizona maybe aren’t aware of that.”
Alpine resident Darby Simpson said this is an opportunity to tell the rest of the country what she’s told desert dwellers for years now.
“This is the most beautiful country on earth,” she said.
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Web Links:
_ Capitol Christmas Tree 2009: www.capitolchristmastree2009.org
_ Apache-Sitgreaves Forests: www.fs.fed.us/r3/asnf/
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PHOTOS: Click thumbnails to see full-resolution images.
Richard Davalos, a U.S. Forest Service employee, stands by a blue spruce near the eastern Arizona hamlet of Alpine is heading to Washington, D.C., to be the U.S. Capitol’s Christmas tree. Area residents say they’re excited by the opportunity to show the rest of the nation that there’s more to Arizona than desert and cactus. (Cronkite News Service Photo by Alexander MacLean)
This blue spruce near the eastern Arizona hamlet of Alpine is heading to Washington, D.C., to be the U.S. Capitol’s Christmas tree. Area residents say they’re excited by the opportunity to show the rest of the nation that there’s more to Arizona than desert and cactus. (Cronkite News Service Photo by Alexander MacLean)
A student at Alpine Elementary School makes an ornament that will hang on the U.S. Capitol’s Christmas tree, which will come from the forest in eastern Arizona. Area residents say they’re excited by the opportunity to show the rest of the nation that there’s more to Arizona than desert and cactus. (Cronkite News Service Photo by Alexander MacLean)