STATE CHRISTMAS TREES A Putnam Family Donates Their Tree To The State
Reported by: Katy Brown
Videographer: Katy Brown
Web Producer: Katy Brown
Reported: Nov. 23, 2012 9:56 PM EST
EYEWITNESS ONLINE WEBCAST VIDEO C L I C K T O P L A Y
Winfield
, Putnam County
, West Virginia
Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, it is time for Christmas.
The Governor and the capital complex have selected their trees and one of the three comes from the Fewell's of Winfield.
They planted the tree 25 years ago when their son bought a small blue spruce to replace previous evergreen.
"When we moved here, there was a big Blue Spruce tree out there. And I just loved it. And it outgrew the space. It even got over against the house. So my husband had to cut it. So my son, he was probably around 20 then, he come in one day and he had this Blue Spruce in a bucket and he said 'Here mom, here's you another Blue Spruce'," said Janet Fewell.
But when the 25-foot Blue Spruce outgrew the yard, Janet made a phone call.
"Years ago, I remembered a friend donated a tree to the state. So I got on the phone and called the Governor's mansion and they directed me to Mr. Stewart."
Janet told Mr. Stewart about the tree they had and their idea of donating the tree. A few days later the door bell rang.
"Mr. Stewart stopped by one Saturday afternoon and said 'We're going to take your tree this year' and we'll be back Tuesday to cut it. And I thought 'Oh no, they're actually going to take it.'"
The 25-foot Blue Spruce will be used as part of the capitol complex's holiday decorations. That's something the tree is quite used to.
"We always decorated it with all the kids and had hot chocolate and stuff. And we really enjoyed that tree."
But the Fewells hope that the love and enjoyment from the tree will now spread as it's on display for the entire state to see this holiday season.
"I think it's a beautiful tree so we hope everyone enjoys it like we have."
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