Alpena, Michigan – Harvested a Christmas tree in Michigan on Thursday in Alpena, Michigan. Over the years, the Michigan Technology, Management, and Budget Department conducted a search throughout Michigan based on the nomination process to determine the Christmas tree in front of the Michigan State Capitol. FOX 47 News is the only local site of the year!
This year’s tree was donated by Mike and Shelly Catto of Alpena, Michigan. Heath Miller from the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget explained that during the annual inspection of the nominee for the Christmas tree, they were in Alpena and saw the tree in the Cato home by accident.
Heath explained that they “stopped by the house and talked to Mike about what they wanted to do. He was not too hot or cold about this idea, so we left the card and left. When Mike’s wife, Shelly, came home, they talked about it. This and its significance to Michigan. After the conversation, they called and agreed to donate the tree.”
Many people from Alpena came to the wood and watched the Christmas tree in Michigan harvest. You can see from the expression on the face of the attendees that Alpena has an exciting feeling around the city.
In a conversation with Denny Olsen of the CHECK THIS in Michigan, he explained that in his 17 years of harvesting the Christmas tree, each tree was different and had a different story to tell. Further sharing, safety is very important, and his staff “takes a day to prepare trees and areas to ensure that everyone stays safe while cutting down trees.”
Before the trees were cut down, the crowd heard the story of Col. Joe, the colonel from Kalamazoo in World War I, and helped win in some key battles. After the soldier, the tree was named. After the war hero, the tree was named Colonel Joe.
Tree felling occurs very quickly, but the harvest of the tree goes far beyond that. After the tree was cut down, the crane holding the tree began to move the tree to the waiting truck, but before loading and transporting it to Lansing, the staff had to work slowly to bundle the branches. The branches of the trees span 30-foot-wide branches, and on the highway they have to shrink to 11 feet. This process of shrinking and constraining takes approximately 2-3 hours. After this process, the tree is placed on a flat semi truck and taken to the Capitol.
The tree will arrive at the Michigan State Capitol on Saturday, and the local Boy Scouts will help cut the twine before the Christmas tree is placed in front of the Michigan State Capitol.
