White House tree

cut as county

celebrates
By Joel Frady

Ashe Mountain Times

A crowd again gathered atop a hill at River Ridge Tree Farms in Creston on Friday, this time to witness the cutting of the 21-foot Fraser fir that will soon stand in the Blue Room of the White House.

The tree, which was planted in 1985, was cut shortly after 10 a.m. The branches were then tied up and the tree was loaded onto a tractor-trailer for its journey to the nation's capital.

For the owners of River Ridge Tree Farms – Rusty and Ann Estes, Jessie and Michele Davis and Carol Pennington – the ceremony, along with a celebration ceremony held at 2 p.m. at the Ashe County Courthouse, represented years of hard work.

“It's very exciting. A little emotional, but very exciting” said Pennington, the wife of farm co-founder Joe Pennington. She said that Joe, who passed away in 2003, had planted the tree only two years after the farm's creation, but she never expected to see one of their trees go to Washington.

“We never really thought that one would go to the White House,” she said. “You just never think about that when you're starting and setting out trees. It's one of those dreams that you think, 'that happens to other people.'”

In total, River Ridge sent 29 trees to the White House, and have also supplied the tree for the Ashe County Courthouse. The owners were to travel to Washington, D.C., on Saturday and present the tree to first lady Laura Bush on Sunday afternoon.

Despite their historic achievement, Rusty Estes and Jessie Davis still had work on their mind even as they celebrated on Friday.

“We've got a bunch on our plate,” Davis said. “We've got a couple of trucks that we had have to load, and we still have a lot of trees in the field that have to come out.”

“We're behind schedule due to the snow and rain,” Estes added, “so it's a hectic time, but a fun time.”

The times are so hectic that neither man had started to prepare for their trip to the White House. Estes said that he wasn't nervous ... yet.

“We've been so busy, we haven't had time to think about it,” he laughed, “but I guarantee you that when we get there we'll be very nervous.” As of Friday afternoon, Davis noted that they were told there was a “90 percent chance” that they would also meet President George W. Bush.

Both men also wanted to mention the men and women who help run the farm.

“We've got a great staff, and they're the the reason we are where we're at,” Estes said.

The tree-cutting and celebration ceremonies were attended by local and state officials, each taking the time to congratulate River Ridge Tree Farms for its accomplishment.

“We're so honored in North Carolina to once again have the White House tree,” said Steve Troxler, the North Carolina commissioner of agriculture. He noted that it's the third time in his four years in office that the Blue Room tree has been supplied by a North Carolina grower, so he has been “spoiled.” But to Troxler, it says a lot about the strength of the industry.

“The quality of North Carolina Christmas trees exceeds every other state in the union,” he said, noting that “the value of our trees shows that we're the leading Christmas tree growing state in the nation.” He added that he expects the trend of North Carolina Blue Room trees to continue.

“We feel very privileged to be able to represent the Christmas tree industry,” said Jessie Davis. “We're doing everything possible that we can to represent it well, because I do believe that the Fraser fir is the best tree that's out there and we want everyone to know that.”

Rusty Estes added that “besides benefiting ourselves, we're benefiting all the other tree growers in Ashe County and North Carolina. It's a benefit for everybody.”

In addition to the Blue Room tree, the fields of River Ridge Tree Farms will be open to choose-and-cut customers this holiday season. To find out more about the farm, call (336) 982-3081 or click to www.riverridgetreefarms.com.