Tree To Stop In Middlebury On Thanksgiving—

Vermont Is Bringing An Old Fashioned Holiday To The Nation

The 2007 US Capitol Christmas tree will begin making its way from Bennington, Vt.,  to Washington, D.C., on Monday, November 19, pulled by a 1971 Brockway Model 361H owned by Fred Beauchamp of Rutland, Vt. The impressive vehicle will be one of the many antique trucks on a caravan route which will stop at several veterans homes and hospitals along the way with trees and gifts for our veterans. The goal of the trip is to “bring old-fashioned holiday cheer to many of our country’s wounded veterans,” say organizers of US Capitol Christmas Tree 2007.

On Thanksgiving Day, The Golden Age of Trucking Museum in Middlebury will be hosting the caravan in the morning from 9 am until noon. The balsam fir will be parked in the museum lot for all to see. Local veterans are encouraged to attend this special event on Thursday, November 22.

The museum is located at 1101 Southford Road (Route 188) and will be opened on Thanksgiving for this special event. The museum is asking anyone interested in being a part of this event to help out by making a personalized Christmas card to distribute at one of the veterans hospitals or homes the caravan will be stopping at during its trip.

The card should express a holiday wish to a veteran with your name signed. It does not have to be addressed but may have a return address. The cards should be dropped off at the trucking museum any time before the event and will be presented to the caravan on Thanksgiving Day so that they may be distributed during the remainder of the journey to veterans hospitals.

Refreshments will be served. Any questions may be directed to the museum at 203-577-2181 or via the website at GoldenAgeTruckMuseum.com.

This year marks the fifth time Vermont has provided a tree to Washington, D.C. The state previously provided trees for the Capitol in 1967, 1980, 1982 and 1994. This year’s tree is a balsam fir that was selected from the Green Mountain National Forest, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2007.

Approximately 4,500 ornaments will be provided for the Capitol Tree. In addition another 3,000 ornaments will travel down with 70 companion trees also making the journey to Washington. While these trees were cut from the National Forest and from the Vermont-New Hampshire Tree Growers Association, members purchased and distributed hundreds of balsam tree seedlings through local events. These seedlings will be planted to supply trees for the future.