Nuisance pine finds home on state Governor's Mansion lawn

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Each year, state conservation officials scour the countryside looking for the perfect tree to anchor the governor's holiday decoration.

This year, a tree that once threatened a power line will fire up the governor's electric meter. On Monday morning, a crane positioned the 26-foot-tall, 24-foot-wide, 2,400-pound Norwegian pine on the Governor's Mansion lawn.

A couple living outside Wentzville, Mo., donated the tree after learning of its incompatibility with the utility line.

The Missouri Department of Conservation fields several calls from potential tree sources, but most do not measure up to the staff's specifications.

"Lots of people want to get rid of ugly trees, but few people want to get rid of trees that look like this," said Justine Gartner, a conservation department forestry program supervisor, as she gestured toward the full foliage of the new addition.

"It's perfect; there are no bare spots."

The mansion on Monday also received a 20-foot-tall, 20-year-old white pine. This tree was managed and pruned especially for the purpose of holiday decorations by Clell Solomon of Tannenbaum Farm in Armstrong, Mo., a longtime supplier of mansion evergreens.

In recognition of the special flavor the holiday decorations add to the capital landscape, Gov. Jay Nixon and first lady Georganne Nixon will open the mansion to the public for candlelight tours Friday and Saturday. Volunteer docents familiar with the mansion's historical features will help lead the tours.

This year's decorative theme centers on traditional, old-fashioned and natural items, including fruits and nuts, glass ornaments and white lights.

A ceremonial lighting of the mansion will precede Friday's tours, which run from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday's tours run from 2 to 4 p.m., and will be followed by the Jaycee's annual Christmas parade. Several Mid-Missouri youth choirs will provide music during the lighting ceremony and tours.