White House Tree Cut as County Celebrates

By Joel Frady

A crowd again gathered atop a hill at River Ridge Tree Farms in Creston on Friday, Nov. 28, this time to

witness the cutting of the 21-foot Fraser Fir that now stands in the Blue Room of the White House. The tree, which was planted in 1985, was cut shortly after 10 a.m. The branches were tied up and the tree was loaded onto a tractor trailer for its journey to the nation's capital.

| For the owners of River Ridge Tree Farms - Rusty and Ann Estes, Jessie and Michele Davis and Carol Pennington - the ceremony, along with a celebration ceremony held at 2 p.m. at the Ashe County Courthouse - represented years of hard work.

"It's very exciting. A little emotional, but very exciting" said Pennington, the wife of farm co-founder Joe Pennington. She said that Joe, who passed away in 2003, had planted the tree only two years after the farm's creation, but she never expected to see one of their trees go to Washington.

"We never really thought that one would go to the White House," she said. "You just never think about that when you're starting and setting out trees. It's one of those dreams that you think, 'that happens to other people'."

In total, River Ridge sent 29 trees to the White House, and also supplied the tree for the Ashe County Courthouse. The owners will travel to Washington on Saturday and present the tree to First Lady Laura Bush on Sunday afternoon.

Despite their historic achievement, Rusty Estes and Jessie Davis still had work on the mind even as they celebrated on Friday.

"We've got a bunch on our plate," Davis said. "We've got a couple of trucks that we have had to load, and we still have a lot of trees in the field that have to come out."

"We're behind schedule due to the snow and rain," Estes added, "so it's a hectic time, but a fun time."

The times are so hectic that neither man had started to prepare for their trip to the White House. Estes said that he wasn't nervous ... yet.

"We've been so busy, we haven't had time to think about it," he laughed, "but I guarantee you that when we get there we'll be very nervous."

Both men also wanted to mention the men and women that help run the farm.

"We've got a great staff, and they're the the reason we are where we're at," Estes said.

The tree-cutting and celebration ceremonies were attended by local and state officials, each taking the time to congratulate River Ridge Tree Farms for their accomplishment.

"We're so honored in North Carolina to once again have the White House tree," said Steve Troxler, the North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture. He noted that it's the third time in his four years in office that the Blue Room tree has been supplied by a North Carolina grower, so he has been "spoiled." But to Troxler, it says a lot about the strength of the industry.

"The quality of North Carolina Christmas trees exceeds every other state in the Union," he said, noting that "the value of our trees shows that we're the leading Christmas tree growing state in the nation." He added that he expects the trend of North Carolina Blue Room trees to continue.

"We feel very privileged to be able to represent the Christmas tree industry," said Jessie Davis. "We're doing everything possible that we can to represent it well, because I do believe that the Fraser fir is the best tree that's out there and we want everyone to know that." Rusty Estes added that "besides benefiting ourselves, we're benefiting all the other tree growers in Ashe County and North Carolina. It's a benefit for everybody."

After Friday's festivities, the Davis and Estes families - totaling 20 people - made the trip to Washington for Sunday's White House visit. Jessie Davis said that rain was "the only sour point," causing the larger aspects of the visit to be canceled (such as hay rides and the company of 250 military families), but that "everything else just went super well."

He noted that, as the tree approached the White House as a military band played, it gave him "one of those somber feelings to know that a tree we planted and grew made it to this point. It was a very humbling feeling."
Rusty Estes added that it was an "unbelievable experience, but the most amazing thing is how well we were treated up there. When you come from a small community on a farm - they treated us like royalty. All the staff, everybody there, the security, Mrs. Bush, they couldn't have been any better. You'd have thought we were the Queen of England."

Davis said that the First Lady was "very cordial. She talked of how beautiful the trees were, their great smell, and that it was one of the nicest trees they've had in the White House." After the ceremony, Laura Bush spent time talking to and taking pictures with each of her 20 guests.

Once the tree was up, volunteers decorated it with ornaments from all 50 states. The experience wasn't over for the Davis and Estes families, however, as they were invited back to the White House on Monday morning for a tour guided by White House Chief Usher Stephen Rochon.

Rusty Estes said he enjoyed the tour, once they passed through strict White House security, because they "got to look at all the paintings and priceless furniture," including a chair and desk used by George Washington. Jessie Davis added that he enjoyed the chance to talk with members of the Secret Service, as well as meeting and taking pictures with Barney and Beasley, the president's dogs.

"It just couldn't have went any better," Davis said of the trip.

"The whole Washington experience was a once-in-a-lifetime thing that you couldn't put a value on for the whole family," Estes said. "It's quite an experience, staying right downtown and walking and seeing all the sights. I hope I get the chance to go back sometime."

The chance won't come for at least three years, however, as River Ridge Tree Farms is ineligible to compete in the national Fraser fir competition for the next three years (because they won).

In addition to the Blue Room tree, the fields of River Ridge Tree Farms will be open to choose-and-cut customers this holiday season. To find out more about the farm, call (336) 982-3081 or click to www.riverridgetreefarms.com.