Western NC sends a Christmas tree to the White House, with thanks to the American people
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Western NC Christmas Trees
Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina and left many Christmas tree farms scrambling or behind on production. Now the region’s tree farmers are ready to tell their stories, with many inviting visitors to make holiday memories at their farms while cutting down their own trees.
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The evergreens growing in perfect rows on a far hillside at Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm outside Newland were still wrapped in fog on the morning of Monday, Oct. 28, when Dale Haney set out in search of the perfect specimen.
It needed to be tall, at least 18.5 feet. It had to be full, with no gaps or holes. And its branches must be strong; there would be a lot riding on this stately Fraser fir.
On Nov. 20 the chosen tree will be cut and sent to First Lady Jill Biden for placement in the Blue Room of the White House, where volunteers will help hang more than 30,000 ornaments on its fragrant, feathery branches.
But more than that, Haney, the White House grounds superintendent, knew the tree would carry the hopes of tens of thousands of people in Western North Carolina looking for a bit of normalcy and a glimmer of joy as they face the holidays with so much recovery work ahead.
Newland is the seat of tiny Avery County, one of those hard hit by flooding and landslides when the remnants of Hurricane Helene barreled through on Sept. 27. Four deaths have been confirmed in the county as a result of the destruction, and almost everything in people’s lives has been affected as well.
A section of downtown Newland was raked by the rushing North Toe River when it overflowed its banks. Some businesses flooded by the river or nearby tributaries have not yet reopened, and heavy equipment operators are at work rebuilding roads and bridges that were washed out. Traffic is heavy in town, with dump trucks bringing rock and gravel in and hauling debris out. Restaurants that have reopened are bustling, and people gather to talk about how the county’s rebuilding is going.
It’s spotty. Grandfather Mountain Nature Park and Swinging Bridge has reopened, but the state park adjacent to it remains closed, along with Linville Falls and Linville Caverns. The popular Snowy Mountain Christmas Shop in Newland is welcoming shoppers.
Christmas is big in Avery County
Christmas is big in Avery County, one of 14 Western N.C. counties known for the production of Fraser firs. North Carolina is the nation’s second-largest producer of fresh Christmas trees, and Fraser firs, marketed as “the Cadillac of Christmas trees,” make up most of those sales.
Jennifer Greene, executive director of the N.C. Christmas Tree Association, says about 1,300 growers produce about 53 million Fraser firs on about 33,000 acres in the state.
The Cartner brothers’ parents, the late Sam and Margaret Cartner, got into the tree-growing business early, in 1959, planting trees on former cattle pastureland to raise money to send their boys to college. A photo of Sam Sr. from those days shows him pruning a tree with a steak knife because he hadn’t yet invested in the tools of the trade.
Monday morning, Haney and Robert Downey, chief usher at the White House, walked a section of the field where some of the three Cartner brothers’ older — and bigger — trees now stand. David and Jim Cartner followed with a telescoping measuring stick to check each candidate’s height and the breadth of the branches at the bottom.
This one has potential. That one is nice.
“What about this one?” Haney asked, summoning Sam, his brothers and an entourage of local and state politicians and industry specialists gathered for the occasion. It was the 16th White House tree to come from North Carolina since the National Christmas Tree Association started the tradition in 1966.
A tree that represents hope, joy, generosity
It’s a point of pride, but for the Cartners, it’s also a way of saying thanks.
When asked what it means for the farm to send the tree to The People’s House, Sam Cartner said he could speak for his parents and his brothers in saying that the gift represents “all the good things in society. We’ve experienced that here in this county from this disaster,” he said. “The generosity of people, the supplies that have flooded in, the people that show up on the doorstep saying, ‘Can I help you cut this tree? Can we get the mud out of your basement? Do you need a place to live?’
“That’s what my parents and we want this tree to represent,” Cartner said. “Faith, hope, love, joy, happiness, sharing, generosity.
“It’s coming from Avery County to represent the good things in life.”
While some North Carolina Christmas tree growers are still assessing the damage to their crops, many have announced dates they will open for choose-and-cut or retail sales on the N.C. Christmas Tree Association’s website.
This story was originally published October 29, 2024 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Western NC sends a Christmas tree to the White House, with thanks to the American people."
