PHOTOS: U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree Cutting
Posted
By
Young Kwak
on Sat, Nov 2, 2013 at 10:05 AM
On Friday, Nov. 1, the U.S. Forest service cut an 88-foot Engelmann Spruce from the Colville National Forest, near Usk, Wash., to serve as this year's U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. A few hundred people attended to see the beginning of a journey the tree, which is the first from Eastern Washington, will take through 11 states before being lit in Washington D.C. on Dec. 4.
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The U.S. Forest Service's Jim Beckwith sets up crane rigging.
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U.S. Forest Service employees Alex Jess, center, and Michael Rude hand Jim Beckwith a saw.
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Smokey the Bear, left, hangs out with (left to right) U.S. Forest Service employee Gayne Sears, Chelsea Earls, her 8-year-old daughter Olivia and 5-year-old son Oliver.
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Four-year-old Maggie McClure, left, and her brother Connor, 7, eat cookies and drink hot chocolate, as their mother Erin watches.
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Goff Daily holds his 9-month-old son Sean.
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Margaret Schmidt, right, shows her husband Dennis a photo.
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Kalispel Tribe Cultural Program Assistant Director J.R. Bluff keeps a drum warm.
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Brian Montgomery pours hot water for hot chocolate.
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Sonia Wirth, left, holding her 20-month-old daughter Sadie, and Stephanie Wirth wait for the tree to be cut.
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Nine-year-old Ian Hicks throws a log on a fire.
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U.S. Forest Service employee Ben Curtis, center, reviews some procedures before the tree is cut.
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Riley Sampson, 6, hugs Woodsy Owl.
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Kalispel Tribe Cultural Program Director Francis Cullooyah speaks before the tree destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.
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Members of the Kalispel Tribe perform a flag song and an honor song.
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U.S. Forest Service employee John Wirth cuts the 88-foot Engelmann Spruce.
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Members of the media and the general public watch an 88-foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, as it's cut.
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Debbie Lutz, left, and her husband Bob photograph and film during the cutting of an 88-foot Engelmann Spruce, destined to be the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree.
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The tree is lifted by a crane.
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The 88-foot Engelmann Spruce is lifted by a crane.
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U.S. Forest Service employee John Wirth cuts the bottom off the tree.
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U.S. Forest Service employee Cally Davidson, left, and Pend Oreille County Public Works employee Bernie Nelson place a bag on the base of the tree.
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Workers guide the tree onto a truck.
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Workers guide the 88-foot Engelmann Spruce onto a truck.
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