JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – It’s beginning to look a lot like the holidays in Missouri’s capital city, after a crane moved a 30-foot tree into the governor’s mansion.
For 30 years, the Missouri Department of Conservation has been asking Missourians to donate evergreen trees between 30 and 40 feet tall to be decorated on the lawn of the Missouri Governor’s Mansion. The Richardson family said they were happy to donate their Norway spruce because the tree was at the end of its lifespan due to recent droughts.
“We thought what a perfect way for it to go out,” Sherry Richardson said. “I’m still in awe. I can’t believe they picked my tree.”
High in the sky On Monday morning, a Christmas tree was flying through the air in Jefferson City.
“It always amazes me that they can lift it up by crane over onto the lawn,” Missouri Department of Conservation Natural Resources Communication Specialist Jolly Dentner said. “Just the logistics involved in it are always impressive.”
Sherry and her husband donated the 30-foot Norway spruce after taking a picture of their beloved tree earlier this fall and sending it to the Department of Conservation.
“It was kind of like, oh wow,” Richardson said as she explained her tree flying through the air attached to a crane. “I never thought it would be that high up in the air.”
Richardson said the tree that was donated was one of five that line her driveway. Originally when she and husband built the house 30 years ago, they planted 25 Norway spruces, but over time, Sherry said she ran over most of them with the lawnmower.
“My husband put a barricade around these five that are down our driveway,” Richardson said while laughing. “When they were little sticks, my husband said, wouldn’t it be neat if someday they got big enough to go to the governor’s mansion? He heard it on the radio this year and I went out to snap some pictures.”
Dentner said the Boone County family was chosen out of a dozen different candidates to have their tree spruced up with lights and decorations on the mansion lawn.
“This year, this candidate was a clear winner,” Dentner said. “I knew the day it came in that it was the tree we were going to use. We try for trees that grow native in the state of Missouri, so white pines, eastern red cedar, and Norway spruce are the three that really grow well in Missouri.”
Some parts of the state have seen continuous drought conditions for nearly two years. Back in October, the National Weather Service compared the existing drought to the Dust Bowl, saying Missouri hasn’t seen anything like this in nearly a century.
“Trees like this one that are decades old they can suffer from drought conditions as well, and we’re lucky that we got this,” Dentner said.
Once removed, the Department of Conservation offers seedlings to homeowners to replace the tree. Richardson said she’s not sure exactly what they will replant in its place, but it’s in the works.
“It was a little sad watching them cut it down but also it was joyous in my heart knowing that it was coming here instead of dying where it was because it’s at the end of its life,” Richardson said. “We hope we’re going to be able to maintain the other four, but this weather has just been atrocious. The droughts have really taken a toll on them these last few years.”
The annual tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m., followed by Candlelight Tours inside the mansion. This year’s theme is “Standing United: A Salute to Christmas.”
