Three Trees Traveled

Thanksgiving is over, and Christmas has officially arrived. It came with the delivery of the official Capitol Christmas trees this morning. The trees for inside the state house were received by the House speaker's wife, Nadine Craddick, while Austin Energy engineers were securing the big tree at the junction of 11th and Congress.

Delivered by the horse-drawn Die Gelbe Rose Carriage to the Capitol southern steps, the three Virginia Pines had been driven from the MR and MS Christmas tree ranch in Palestine, Texas, this morning. One will go to the lieutenant governor's reception room, one to the governor's office, and the third will serve as the Angel Tree. Standing outside the Capitol Grill in the underground extension, it will be covered in 230 gift tags. Each represents a "wish list" item from 115 foster children currently in state care. "I want to encourage all state employees to go by and get a gift tag off the tree, purchase your gift, and deliver it to the speaker's office. Then we can make sure that each of these children have a very special Christmas," said Craddick.

The trees won't actually go on display until Tuesday, because they still need dressing and another layer of fire retardant to be sprayed on. "We're very sensitive about fires around here," Secretary of State Phil Wilson noted, referring to the 1983 inferno that engulfed the building.