On November 17, 1966 the front page story in the Colfax Record was about the Christmas tree that had been shipped by rail from Colfax, California, to Washington, D.C., the previous day.
The tree had been cut by PG&E crews on Grouse Ridge in Nevada County and brought by flatbed truck to Colfax where it was loaded onto a railroad car headed to the east coast. Although the tree had been cut in Nevada County, the banner that was prepared for the tree’s send-off wished a “Merry Christmas from Colfax, Calif. to L.B.J. and the U.S.A.”
The Colfax Record reported the story that day, which we reprint here.
Much Ado in Colfax Over Nation’s Christmas Tree
The Colfax Record
Thursday, November 17, 1966
Last year the nation’s Christmas tree was furnished by Arizona. Next year the honored tree will hail from Vermont. But 1966 is California’s year.
The tree selected to stand proudly in the Ellipse in front of the White House this year is a perfectly pro-portioned Red Fir, known as the George Washington Tree, that stood on Pacific Gas & Electric Company property on Grouse Ridge for 80 years or more.
PG&E crews, assisted by experts from Pacific Tree Company, cut the tree early Tuesday morning. The intricately planned transaction was watched by Congressman and Mrs. Harold “Bizz” Johnson, Placer County and PG&E dignitaries and the news media. In order to protect the branches so the tree would not be damaged, some of the limbs were secured and braced while the tree was still standing.
The “mechanical hands” of two huge PG&E trucks held the tree upright after cutting then slowly lowered it into the cradle prepared for it on the bed of a large truck.
During the rainy Tuesday noon hour the area along the tracks behind Sierra Fuel began bustling with trucks, men in hard hats and interested onlookers as the tree was being readied for transfer from truck to railroad car. A special send-off was arranged by the Colfax Area Chamber of Commerce under the direction of John Boehme, president. A shelter was provide for the Colfax High School Band by Quinn’s Sierra Chapel.
City Councilman Jim Henry, representing the City of Colfax in the absence of Mayor Bob Marson, introduced Congressman Johnson who gave a brief review of what is in store for the fallen Grouse Ridge giant. Other people introduced were Assemblyman Gene Chappie and Will Jones, chairman of the Placer County Board of Supervisors. Also present was Jim Williams, Placer County executive and Syd Michaels of Auburn, Division Sales Manager for PG&E.
The Colfax High School Band played several numbers under the direction of Pete Hanson.
During the interval between the Tuesday noon ceremony and the departure Wednesday afternoon, the tree was being wrapped for the journey. The Christmas Pageant of Peace at the White House will be carried on around the California tree throughout the holiday season. It will be decorated with 5 to 6 thousand white and yellow lights and metal stars. Fifty four smaller trees around it will sparkle with blue, green and white lights.
President Johnson will light the trees December 16 and the lights will be turned off at midnight, January 2. Nightly programs will be presented by choral groups, concert bands and other musical organizations.
PG&E was responsible for the cutting, delivery to the railroad and loading of the Red Fir. Four rail lines share the responsibility for its safe journey to the east coast. Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, Norfolk and Western and the Baltimore and Ohio will relay the tree to its scheduled destination in Washington, D. C. around November 30. It will be transported by truck to the Ellipse.
The National Community Christmas Tree has been an annual event in the National Capital since 1923. The first tree, a giant fir cut from the Green Mountains, was presented to President Calvin Coolidge by President Paul. D. Moody of Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont.
This tree was erected in the Ellipse, just south of the White House. In 1924, a living tree, a Norway spruce, was presented to the President by the American Forestry Association and planted in Sherman Plaza in the Grounds South of the Executive Mansion. In 1925, the program was broadcast to the Nation for the first time.
The ceremonies were transferred to Lafayette Park in 1934, and two Fraser Fir trees were installed in the park for this purpose, being used on alternate years until 1939, when the event was again moved to the Ellipse. From 1941 through 1953, the programs were held in the Executive Mansion grounds.
In 1954, the Christmas Pageant of Peace, Inc., was organized. The scope of the National Community Christmas Tree Celebration was broadened to emphasize the desire of this Nation and other nations of the world to find peace through the spirit and meaning of Christmas. An elaborate setting was arranged on the Ellipse south of the White House.
Colfax Chamber of Commerce members assisting in the ceremony were Boehme, Betty Velican, Melba James, Dick Wayland, Ken Quinn and Jim Henry.
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Dick Wayland had a copy of the original article and photo, which he provided to the historical society when we first used this story in the December 2018 Colfax Cobblestones newsletter.
Barbara Kelly found additional photos in the November/December 2013 issue of Wheels of Time, a publication of the American Truck Historical Society. The additional photos are from that issue.
Colfax Area Historical Society (CAHS) and Colfax Heritage Museum (CHM) 