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Meet the sawyer who cut the Capitol Christmas
Tree |
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November 15, 2017 |
Meet the local sawyer who was selected earlier
this month to cut the 2017 U.S. Capitol
Christmas Tree, which is now on its way east to
Washington, D.C. Kootenai Forest Supervisor
Chris Savage selected Pete Tallmadge of Troy
with the honor.
Tallmadge is a life-long resident of northwest
Montana. He is a fourth generation Montanan and
a third generation logger who works with
Tallmadge Logging, which started operation in
the 1960s by his father, Stan Tallmadge.
Pete and his wife Pam are the parents of five
children and one grandchild.
His company has done a lot of roadbuilding for
timber access and 99 percent of all the logging
work has been in Lincoln County. Pete and his
family have a life-long history in northwest
Montana and both his grandfather and uncle were
sawyers and now his son, Adam is in the
business.
“What loggers look like will keep changing, but
we would like to be part of the logging industry
for future generations in northwest Montana,”
said Tallmadge.
When asked about cutting the 2107 Capitol
Christmas tree Tallmadge responded, “I’m
honored, privileged and a little anxious about
the event, but mostly happy that my kids and
grandkids will be able to remember that I was a
sawyer and that they have a strong family
history of working in the timber industry in
northwest Montana.”
The tree Pete cut November 8 is a 79-foot tall
Engelmann Spruce that grew on the Three Rivers
Ranger District in Troy.
The tree was then prepped for the almost
3,000-mile trip, which includes a series of
community celebrations and culminates with the
official tree lighting in early December.
After arriving in Washington, D.C., the tree
lighting will occur in early December as
determined by the Speaker of the U.S. House of
Representatives.
“We are pleased that a local sawyer agreed to
cut the 2017 Capitol Christmas tree,” Savage
said. “Mr. Tallmadge comes well recommended and
has decades of wood-working experience.”
For tour information, event details, news and
updates, and to track the tree cross-country,
visit
www.fs.usda.gov/kootenai or
www.capitolchristmastree.com. |
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