Christmas Tree

State Christmas Tree has Taylor County roots

State Christmas tree has Taylor County roots Gov. Tony Evers, with Preston Cole of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) welcomed students and members of the public to the Capitol on Friday for the lighting of the state Christmas tree. The tree will be on display in the rotunda of the state capital through the month of December.

“The best part about the holiday season at the Capitol is that it is a collaborative effort of folks all over our state that makes this season such a success,” said Gov. Evers. “I especially want to thank all the educators and students from schools throughout Wisconsin who put a lot of time, effort, and creativity into handmade ornaments to reflect our theme ‘Celebrate Science’ and make our tree a little more spectacular. ”

The 2019 Capitol Christmas Tree was harvested from Meyer’s Castle Tree Farm in Medford. The 30-foot balsam fir was delivered to the State Capitol prior to Thanksgiving by Prochnow Trucking of Medford and is currently the center of attention inside the Capitol rotunda.

Henry Schienebeck, executive director of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, assisted in the tree selection. The State Capitol Facilities Team lit the tree with 2,000 LED multicolored lights and hung the decorations. The tree skirt was designed by Patti Hellenbrand of Village Creek Quilts in Lodi and quilted by Cindy Hasse of Cottage Grove. The stainless-steel tree stand was fabricated and donated by BouMatic of Madison, and Ken Lucht of the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Company supplied the locomotive circling the base of the tree.

“I am honored that this year’s State Capitol Christmas Tree is from the 87th Assembly District,” said Rep. Edming. “Each year, folks from around Wisconsin travel to Madison to take in the wonderful Christmas decorations around the Capitol. I am excited that the centerpiece of these decorations, the State Capitol Christmas Tree, was provided by some of the hardworking people I represent.”

Medford Area Senior High School Concert Choir and Medford’s Take Note Acapella Group performed during the tree lighting ceremony on Friday. They were joined by fifth grade students from Elvehjem Elementary, La Follette High School STEM students Taylor Fibikar and Sydney Bruce.

Medford High School Concert Choir and Take Note, the acappella choir, under the direction of Cassandra Jablonsky, sang for the tree lighting ceremony at the state capitol in Madison on Friday, Dec. 6. The tree was grown at Meyer Castle Tree Farm near Medford and delivered by Prochnow Trucking. Following the ceremony, they participated in a vocal clinic with Dr. Bruce Gladstone, associate director of Choral Activities at UW-Madison. Following the clinic, they toured the brand new Hamel Music Center followed by a walking tour of UW-Madison. Pictured are (l. to r.): Back row, Jace Rausch, Reilly Nutting, Cade Shipman, Alex Schroeder, Dylan Wickersheim, Logan Dassow, Kirk Giencke, Dalton Krug, Austin Stahnke, Elaina Jaslowski Aaliyah Jaslowski. Second row, Peyton Spor, Jordaan Clark, Elijah Mahner, Nick Mahner, Dalton Casar, LaKayla Baumgartner, Jordyn Krueger, Kailee Mann, Ellyn Laska, Sierra Combs, Rose Hartl and Hannah Horenberger. Front row, Shakira Brockhaus, Brook Meyer, Jillian Mahner, Abby Graham, Marissa Pope, Seth Mayrer, Sughey Hernandez Camacho, Kaitlin Kowalski, Bregan Paul and Alexis Steffen.

Submitted photos, layout by Julie Seifert