Joyous Celebration
Hundreds attend Capitol Tree event
Attendees of the 2023 Capitol Christmas Tree celebration in the Elkins Town Square Saturday night sign their names onto the truck that will carry the tree to Washington, D.C., to be displayed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol during the holiday season.
Ethan Reese, the Beverly Elementary School fourth-grader who won the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest, smiles Saturday evening as he is applauded by hundreds of people who attended the Capitol Christmas Tree celebration in the Elkins Town Square.
Attendees of the 2023 Capitol Christmas Tree celebration in the Elkins Town Square Saturday night sign their names onto the truck that will carry the tree to Washington, D.C., to be displayed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol during the holiday season.
Ethan Reese, the Beverly Elementary School fourth-grader who won the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree essay contest, smiles Saturday evening as he is applauded by hundreds of people who attended the Capitol Christmas Tree celebration in the Elkins Town Square.
Trending
ELKINS -- Hundreds of people turned out to take part in a joyous community celebration Saturday evening, as the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree visited downtown Elkins on its way to Washington, D.C.
The 63-foot Norway Spruce was harvested in the Monongahela National Forest in Randolph County Wednesday, and arrived in Elkins on a lengthy tractor-trailer Saturday, accompanied by a mini-parade running from the Jennings Randolph Federal Building to the Elkins Depot.
"I want to thank this community for coming together and embracing this opportunity," Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco said during the celebration. "What a tremendous opportunity for us to give a piece of our state to go on national display.
"We know how great our state is. We live in the best country, the best state, the best and biggest county and, in my mind, the best city. All that's going to be on display in our nation's capitol, so we're very excited."
The tree will make several more stops this week during a tour of West Virginia before heading to D.C., where it will be displayed on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol during the holiday season.
"I'm excited and I'm humbled to join this celebration that we're having tonight," Cris Siler of the Randolph County Commission said. "The Monongahela National Forest is an essential asset not only to our county's economy but also to the well-being and vitality of our community and the surrounding areas. It's my hope that this tree leaves a small piece of Almost Heaven to everybody who views it, and gives them a glimpse of our beautiful home back here in Randolph County."
Brian Aluise of Sen. Joe Manchin's office introduced the person he called "the man of the hour" Saturday evening, Beverly Elementary fourth-grader Ethan Reese.
"Sen. Manchin's office held a state-wide essay contest for fourth-graders to enter into a chance to light the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree this year in Washington," Aluise said. "I was thinking maybe we'd get 30, 40. We got 423. And every single one was special, but one in particular stood out the most."
Ethan Reese then read his winning essay, which noted that his great-great-grandfather, Arthur Wood, in 1931 became one of the first superintendents of the Monongahela National Forest.
After Reese read his essay, Randolph County Development Authority Executive Director Robbie Morris, who served as the emcee of the event Saturday night, said, "Ethan, take in this moment, and know that all of Randolph County is proud of you, and we can't wait to watch you light the Christmas tree in our nation's capitol."
Forest Supervisor Shawn Cochran of the Monongahela National Forest also spoke during the event, saying, "This year marks the third time the tree has come from West Virginia. It's an honor to be chosen to provide the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, but it's also a huge effort, and it takes a lot of people to make a project like this happen."
Cochran pointed out that the 2023 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree has been named "wa'feem'tekwi" by the Shawnee Tribe. The name means "bright tree" in the Shawnee language and is pronounced phonetically "wa thame tech we."
Shawnee Tribe representative Erin Paden, tribal historic preservation specialist with the Shawnee Tribal Government, also addressed the crowd.
"I'm so grateful to be here in Elkins, West Virginia," she said. "This past September, the Shawnee Tribe hosted a workshop for Shawnee citizens to make ornaments for the tree, and other Shawnee citizens from across the U.S. made ornaments to mail in."
Jack Tribble, the district ranger for the Greenbrier Ranger District of the Monongahela National Forest, the area where the tree was harvested, told the crowd, "It's just wonderful to see everyone come together like this. It's just been a great experience. Our Forest Service timber crew spent two-and-a-half to three days packaging up this tree."
Also speaking Saturday night were representatives for Gov. Jim Justice, Congressman Alex Mooney and Congresswoman Carol Miller, and also Mark Bowe, the host of Magnolia Network's "Barnwood Builders" television series.
The kickoff event was put together by the "Elfkins" Planning Team, including Marco and his staff, the Randolph County Development Authority, Elkins-Randolph Chamber, Elkins Main Street, Elkins Depot Welcome Center, Old Brick Playhouse, Citizens Promoting Community, and Our Town Inc.