A group of students in West Virginia are taking on an important role in America's holiday celebrations by helping harvest the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree and escort the 63-foot Norway spruce as it makes its way to Washington, D.C.
The town of Harper's Ferry held a viewing party Wednesday for the giant tree, which was on display inside a clear tractor-trailor.
"For me, I think it’s like the people’s tree, 'cause it is gonna be shown to everybody," said Emily Lopez, one of the students who helped harvest the tree.
Lopez is part of the U.S. Forest Service Job Corps, a trade program in which students live and work together to train in careers such as wildland firefighting and forestry conservation.
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Students in the Job Corps helped care for the tree and harvest it on Nov. 1 from Monongahela National Forest.
"I’m like, I know this is tree. This is my tree, at this point. But yeah, it felt really special to be a part of this," Job Corps student Armonie Mullen said.
"Honestly, it feels like a great honor, because there is nowhere else where I could get this opportunity for … You feel very empowered and grateful, like, just helping around," Lopez said.
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The U.S. Forest Service has been taking the massive spruce on a two-week tour throughout West Virginia before it heads to Washington, D.C., on Friday.
"The West Virginia pride is very strong," Tina White, a spokesperson for Monongahela National Forest, said. "It doesn’t matter where you’re from in this country, if you come here to visit this tree in Washington, D.C., you’re gonna get a little taste of West Virginia."
The tree has already been adorned with dozens of ornaments, which were all handmade by students in West Virginia. They used recycled materials to make everything more sustainable.
This year's National Christmas Tree, which is displayed on the Ellipse outside the White House, also came from Monongahela National Forest.
The Forest Service has provided a tree harvested from a national forest to serve as the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree since 1970.
