Comments on: O Christmas tree, dead Christmas tree: Arizona supplies U.S. Capitol Tree

By: Thomas Hruska

Thomas Hruska — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:07:40 +0000

Wait…we have Christmas trees that aren’t scraggly looking? Where? We should send a cactus instead just to see if they can decorate it.

By: koreyk

koreyk — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:36:04 +0000

To quote Johnny Carson; “I did not know that”.

I love place name etymology, especially when it concerns Arizona. Actually, I love trivia in general. Get me in a room with a like minded individual or two, and it quickly turns into a regular dork-o-thon. It can be a powerful weapon if you know how to use it.

I highly recommend the original “Arizona Place Names” (over the current highly condensed edition). You don’t even have to be a dork to find it fascinating.

By: Rynski

Rynski — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:01:35 +0000

ahhhh!
so we have double homicides every year (hahaha)!
thanks for your research, koreyk – i should give you a tagline on the article! also – i WHOLLY agree HOOPLA is a gorgeous word.
and leftfield, thank YOU for the bit of name place lore.

By: leftfield

leftfield — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:20:19 +0000

That’s how Christmas Tree Lake in the White Mountains got its name.

By: koreyk

koreyk — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:28:01 +0000

I was just a kid in ‘65, but there was a big hoopla (time to bring back that word) in the local news then about the national Christmas tree being from AZ, that I still remembered it. I too wondered why the release said it was the first time, so I did some research (the real reason that I am quite up on the subject, alas), and discovered that we were dealing with two separate tree assassination conspiracies; The National Christmas Tree, which gave us the ‘65 tree, and The Capitol Christmas Tree, which is the tree you reported on.

By: Rynski

Rynski — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:30:16 +0000

thanks for info, koreyk – you are quite up on the subject. so if the white mountain apache tribe presented a tree in 1965 i wonder why the release said it was the FIRST TIME IN HISTORY?? – perhaps this is the first time in history that Arizona was ASKED to donate, rather than taking the initiative on its own?
i also like the colorado blue spruce from pennsylvania….haha

By: koreyk

koreyk — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:54:26 +0000

Well, this is not the only US government sanctioned cellulose execution. From 1923 until 1973, and again in 1977, a murdered tree was mounted as the National Christmas Tree on the White House grounds. They have since gone to smaller living trees, usually a Colorado blue spruce from Pennsylvania (!?). Arizona’s White Mountain Apache tribe presented a 70 foot blue spruce as the 1965 tree.

For those that voted “It’s an honor and I’m proud”, our tree is second in stature only to Montana’s 89 foot engelmann spruce in 1989. There were several other candidates, including at least one over 90 feet, but this one apparently better fit the criteria.

By: Rynski

Rynski — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:28:30 +0000

hey karen -
i am delighted to hear you indulge in a christmas tree, really – it’s a good thing (just as I was sad to hear you weren’t planning on carving a pumpkin). and yes, i noted that trees are grown as crops specifically for that purpose, so we’re A-OK.
i, too, was wondering about the holiday traditions and how so many seem to go against some “newfangled” ways of thinking – i was going to list all that i could think of, but figured the tree one was just depressing enough on its own (hahah).
as long as no one starts abusing reindeer by throwing them from airplanes to really see if they can fly, we should be able to get through the holidays with the Earth still intact.

By: Karen Nelson

Karen Nelson — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 15:58:25 +0000

Ahhh… first Halloween pumpkins and now my beloved Christmas tree!! Geez, Ryn! How to make a person feel awful about every fun holiday!! Why is it that we have so many “bad” traditions!? For me – at least until I get too “old” to do it (do you like the tie-in to Dianne’s comments?)- I will be “slaughtering” a tree!! Well, I won’t actually be doing the slaughtering… we have butchers to do that. I just go to the lot to buy one already dead! But, just like the cows a lot of you eat, it has been raised and fed to grow nice and fat just for me to have a Christmas tree in my house! Groves and groves of Christmas trees! It’s big business! You wouldn’t want to put all those migrant workers out of a job, now would you? As for the Capitol tree… they would get it from some forest somewhere… to have it from our AZ forest one year… fine with me! We’ll make more! I hope….

By: Rynski

Rynski — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:57:35 +0000

hahahhaha!
it’s on topic since I’LL BET there are already Christmas items for sale at Fry’s and other neighborhood stores – thus the link.