OGDEN, Utah (AP) – Veterans Day, meet Christmas!
These two holidays will briefly converge Monday as an 88-foot Engelmann spruce makes a scheduled stop in Ogden on its journey to Washington, D.C.
A special ceremony will be held Monday afternoon at The Junction to honor military veterans and allow residents to catch a glimpse of the Capitol Christmas Tree that will grace the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol this holiday season.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be part of an event that is on the national stage and is so symbolic for our country,” said Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell.
With Ogden’s transcontinental railroad roots and close ties to Hill Air Force Base, the venerable visit makes sense, Caldwell said.
“For a century, everything stopped in Ogden,” Caldwell said. “It’s great to see this tree do the same thing.
The supersized fir, chosen in mid-2012 by the Capitol architect, was cut from the 1.1-million acre Colville National Forest in northeast Washington State on Nov. 1.
By the time the six-story-tall evergreen reaches the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol, it will have traveled over 4,000 miles and played to crowds in two dozen cities, three of them in Utah.
After leaving Ogden, the near-perfect pine known as “The People’s Tree” will stop in Spanish Fork on Tuesday, then St. George on Wednesday before exiting southward out of the state.
It travels on a double flatbed truck and trailer that extends more than 100 feet in length, outfitted with a special 65-gallon water reservoir that gets replenished daily. People can view the tree through the trailer’s acrylic glass windows.
In addition to remarks Monday by Mayor Caldwell, Ogden’s celebration will feature Col. Kathryn L. Kolbe, commander of the 75th Air Base Wing, the VFW Post 1695 Honor Guard and the Hill Air Force Base Melodic Medics.
A motorcycle brigade of veterans and police officers will escort the tree into The Junction , said Christy McBride, special event coordinator for Ogden.
“What a great fit that they’ll be here on Veterans Day,” McBride said. “Veterans gave us the freedom to have such a tree.”
People are invited to donate signed greeting cards that will be shipped to all Utah-based service members who cannot make it home for the holidays.
“We’re shooting for 1,000 cards,” McBride said.
While Santa Claus will not arrive until Ogden’s Holiday Electric Light parade in late November, McBride said that Woodsy Owl and Smokey Bear will be on hand to commemorate Monday’s occasion.
The tree travels through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland before arriving in D.C. on Nov. 25.
It then gets installed in a five-foot hole on the Capitol’s west lawn, and decorated with 10,000 LED lights and thousands of large handmade ornaments.
In early December, a special tree-lighting ceremony takes place, officiated by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
About 80 smaller “companion” trees have also been donated and are making their way to Capitol and Congressional offices to spread holiday cheer.
Asset tracking company SkyBitz is keeping tabs on the fir’s journey. To follow it around the country, go to trackthetree.com.
