Troops will get local Yule trees

Troops in the 82nd Airborne Division will be receiving a gift from Alleghany and other mountain counties in the coming weeks as about 50 Christmas trees are headed to Iraq.

The Fraser fir trees came from a number of growers in mountain counties, including several here in Alleghany through a program administered by the N.C. Cooperative Extension, N.C. State University, N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and two Christmas tree growers' associations.

The trees were cut last week and delivered to Boone last Friday and then shipped to Fort Bragg on Monday for transport to the troops in Iraq. The 82nd Airborne Division is based at Fort Bragg and many of its troops are serving in Iraq.

A representative of the 82nd Airborne originally contacted the Eastern North Carolina Christmas Tree Growers Association (ENCCTGA) about donating trees. They sought advice from Dennis Hazel and John Frampton, forestry extension specialists on the faculty of N.C. State's College of Natural Resources. The two college faculty members recommended the Fraser fir for sending to Iraq because of its durability and physical characteristics. Fraser fir trees grow only in the mountain counties. "It is the premier specimen for needle retention and flexibility," Hazel said.

"It's probably the best tree species for the hot, dry climate of Iraq," added Frampton.

The Fraser firs for the mission were all grown here in the western part of the state and were donated by members of the North Carolina Christmas Tree Association, which is based in Boone but has members in several counties.

Alleghany growers providing trees to the effort included Pat and Lewis Gaskin, Chris Jones, S.L. Walden, Steve Miller, R.L. Lovern and Hal Holcroft.

Get the rest of this article in this week's issue of the Alleghany News! Back