TWIN FALLS — Gary Amoth made his first trip to Washington, D.C., this month, and it’s a journey he won’t likely forget.
He traveled 3,800 miles across the country just to deliver a special gift: the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, also known as “The People’s Tree.”
“It was awe-inspiring arriving in Washington, D.C., between the Lincoln Memorial and the Capitol in the predawn hours. It was pretty special,” Amoth said.
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He owns Gary Amoth Trucking based in Twin Falls, which was chosen to transport the tree from the Payette National Forest in Central Idaho to the nation’s capitol. It is only the second time the Capitol Christmas Tree has come from Idaho in the 46 years that the U.S. Forest Service has been providing the tree.
Amoth said his company donated time and two trucks to haul not only the Capitol Christmas Tree, an 80-foot Engelmann Spruce, but also companion trees for legislative offices and 18,000 ornaments created by children and other Idahoans. And they were glad to do it.
“It was an honor and a privilege for us to be able to do that,” Amoth said.
The journey took roughly three weeks, and Amoth said they stopped for 31 community celebrations along the way. Thousands of people attended the events to see the tree and sign the banner accompanying it.
Amoth said viewing the scenery and meeting people from different parts of the country were among his favorite parts of the trip. And he enjoyed the celebrations.
“We had great crowds (and they were) very patriotic. Everyone appreciated us transporting The People’s Tree.”
Still, it wasn’t always easy to maneuver an 80-foot trailer into some of the areas where those celebrations took place, like mall parking lots, he said.
Amoth has been trucking for more than 30 years, but he said hauling a Christmas tree across the country was a first for him.
“We’ve never done anything like this before. It was special to be chosen for this,” he said.
The journey culminated in the lighting of the tree at the Capitol on Dec. 6. Despite the rain that fell that day, Amoth said he enjoyed seeing the tree, that came from a hill in McCall, Idaho, lit up on the West Lawn at the Capitol.
“It was awesome,” he said.
U.S. Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo, both Republicans from Idaho, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, R-Wisconsin, Architect of the Capitol Stephen T. Ayers, and the Idaho congressional delegation all participated in the lighting of the Capitol Christmas Tree, according to a news release. Isabella Gerard, a fifth grade student from Boise, was also given the honor of helping after she entered a poem in a contest organized by Sen. Crapo.
Brian Harris, public affairs officer with the Payette National Forest, said it cost an estimated $600,000 to locate, cut down and transport the tree across the nation, as well as gather ornaments and organize events. But most of that cost was covered by sponsors and in-kind support.
Harris was also able to make the journey with the tree, and like Amoth, the opportunity was special to him.
“Overall, it was a great experience,” he said, adding that it was fun to take the tree across the nation, meet people from many different states, and finally deliver the Christmas tree to the Capitol. “That was a pinnacle and highlight of my career.”
The article was originally published in the Idaho State Journal. It is used here with permission.
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