'Haulin' for the Holidays
Basically, the tradition of sending Christmas Trees to Washington began in 1923, when Calvin Coolidge was President. The 1923 and the 1967 Trees came from Vermont, and went to the White House. Then in 1964, the practice of sending trees to the U. S. Capitol began. Vermont provided its first tree to the U. S. Capitol in 1980. Subsequently it followed up with trees being furnished in 1982 and 1994. So 2007 will be the fourth U. S. Capitol Christmas Tree harvested in the Green Mountain National Forest of Vermont.
While it is unclear how the 1923 Tree was delivered to Washington, it may have been done by railroad. The 1967 Tree was delivered by Scott Rigging of Burlington with a then new R-700 Mack Truck. The 1980 Tree was carried by Burgess Brothers of Bennington, who used a 1968 GMC "Long Nose" Model 9500. The 1982 Tree was transported by Earl Cone & Sons of Bethel with their 1978 International Model 4200. The 1994 Tree was hauled by the Green Mountain Bull Dawg Chapter of the Antique Truck Club of America of Rutland, as will the 2007 Tree. It was the first time ever that a 'Convoy' of Antique Trucks had been used to haul the 'Tree'. Ed Fabian of West Rutland actually carried the 1994 'Tree' with his 1957 Mack B813X in a 'Convoy' of some 12 -15 antique Mack Trucks.
In delivering the 2007 'Tree' the Green Mountain Bull Dawg Chapter members will once again utilize their old rigs from the Mack Family of Trucks. This includes Brockway Trucks. Fred Beauchamp's 1971 Brockway, the 'Mountaineer', will do the haulin' this year. Fred Beauchamp is from Rutland, Vermont. The 'Mountaineer' was originally purchased by J. M. Giddings, a specialized rigger, of North Springfield. The truck later ended up under the care of 'Red' McKenzie of Chester for many years. Fred's truck will pull an extendable trailer, which Bill Scott actually used in 1967 to deliver the White House Tree. The official Convoy of Antique Macks and Brockways will again number approximately fifteen trucks on a multi-day journey from Vermont to DC.
In addition to the 'Tree' itself, a 'parts' tree and some eighty 'Companion' Trees will be hauled with Antique Trucks. Many of the antique trucks in the Convoy will have specialized displays on their trailers, such as the one shown on John and Joyce Danielski's 1959 Mack B-67T. The Danielski's reside in Chittenden, Vermont. The horse and sled display are intended to resemble its counterpart depicted on the Official 2007 Tree Logo. The fiberglass horse was acquired from Erwin's Tack Shop near Ferrisburgh, Vermont. The four runner horse drawn sled came from a farm in New Haven, Vermont. The harness was found hanging on a rusted old spike inside a barn in Rutland Town, Vermont; where it had hung for more than seventy years. Other potential displays may include: a 1920's farm tractor - typical of what may have been used to pull the 1923 Tree from the Forest; an antique military vehicle display to correspond with the theme of "Remembering our Veterans at Christmas"; and the oldest driven Mack Truck in the 1994 Convoy, a 1951 Mack LJT, will be given a 'free' ride with the 2007 Convoy.
