Members of the Wrangell Cooperative Association - from left, Sandy Churchill, Esther Aaltséen Reese, Lu Knapp and Mike Aak'wtaatseen Hoyt - sing after giving a blessing to the Capitol Christmas Tree in ceremonies on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol on Dec. 3.
Five, four, three, two, one - wooooooooooo.
And just like that, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree was alit. Adorned with 10,000 Alaskan-made ornaments and glistening with the power of 5,000 LED bulbs, the 80-foot-tall spruce will remain lit from dusk to 11 p.m. through Jan. 1.
While the tree obviously headlined its own lighting ceremony, the Dec. 3 event was equally a celebration of Wrangell and the state. Members of Alaska's congressional delegation, Rep. Mary Peltola and Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, all spoke at the event. Gov. Mike Dunleavy was also a featured speaker.
Wrangell residents were also featured.
Wrangell Cooperative Association tribal council member Sandy Churchill, clan leaders Lu Knapp and Mike Aak'wtaatseen Hoyt, and tribal administrator Esther Aaltséen Reese performed two songs before the tree's illumination.
The first song was a paddle song to acknowledge the tree's cross-country journey that started on Zarembo Island in late October. The second was a welcome song, intended to welcome both the tree and everyone in attendance, Hoyt said. Reese also spoke of the tree's importance.
"For the Tlingit people, the trees are our life givers," she said. "They are how we create our canoes, our homes and our totems - which tell our stories."
Next, 9-year-old Rose Burke spoke. Burke is a student from Kenai who was named the winner of the statewide fourth grade essay contest about the tree. U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson introduced Burke, who read her essay to the crowd before flipping the switch to light up the Capitol lawn.
"Just like Alaska, it is big and beautiful," Rose said of the tree.
Roughly 2% of Wrangell's population attended the tree-lighting ceremony. The high school students who helped construct its cross-country hydration system were invited to the ceremony. Seniors Anika Herman and Ander Edens were even reserved seats in the front row.
Sitting beside them in row No. 1 was U.S. Forest Service Wrangell District Ranger Tory Houser.
"It was such an honor to be able to be there," she said.
For Houser, the official lighting ceremony was a long time coming: She traveled with the tree on its road trip from Seattle to Washington, D.C. Often spotted in an elf costume throughout the 11-stop tour, Houser said her time in the capital city was a perfect capstone to her multi-week road trip.
Once in Washington, she stayed quite busy (though Houser admitted she is not complaining). She went to the National Art Gallery and saw the Claude Monet exhibition; she saw garnets from the ledge near the mouth of the Stikine River at the Smithsonian, and even enjoyed a meal at the U.S. Botanic Garden. The Society of American Foresters flew in Alaska salmon, shrimp and scallops for the meal.
In between trips to the Capitol rotunda, National Archives and Museum of Natural History, Houser found time to toss on the elf costume one more time. At an event at the National Press Club, the Wrangell district ranger showed up dressed like one of Santa's helpers.
"It was a light occasion, but it was very, very fun," she said.
Houser added that there is one moment in particular she will relish. When the tree was on display and there were tourists taking photographs in front of it, she showed up with her family members and with other Forest Service staff and handed out stickers.
"We'd give out our stickers - the logo stickers - and say, 'Hey, we brought this tree here. Let me tell you about it.' And we'd get to tell them a little bit about where it came from."
Getting the opportunity to connect Wrangell to Washington was something Houser was especially proud of.
"It was just really neat to have Wrangell in D.C.," she said. "All the pride from our community (got) to be shared."
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