TREE-MENDOUS
White House Christmas tree selected at Cartner Farm
CHRISTIAN GARDNER
christian.gardner@averyjournal.com
NEWLAND — On Monday, Oct. 28, White House officials made the trip to Avery County, where they met with the Cartner family at the Cartner Christmas Tree Farm where they jointly selected the Christmas tree for the White House in Washington, DC.
The selection began with statements from several guests, including the Executive Director of the National Christmas Tree Association Tim O’Conner and Avery County Agriculture Extension Director Jerry Moody. White House Chief Usher Robert Downing, and White House Superintendent of Grounds Dale Haney arrived at the appointed field to look over Cartner’s choice Fraser Firs to select the perfect tree to be the 2024 White House Christmas tree.
Christmas tree growers David, Sam and Jim Cartner of Cartner’s Christmas Tree Farm in Newland, waited for the arrival of special guests from our nation’s capital to select the 2024 White House Christmas tree.
David, Sam and Jim were named 2024 Grand Champion Grower at the National Christmas Tree Association’s 2023 National Christmas Tree
Contest, as announced previously by North Carolina Christmas Tree Association. With this award goes the honor of presenting a Christmas tree to the White House.
After inspecting and measuring contending trees, Downing and Haney selected a spectacular 20-foot-tall tree to be displayed in the Blue Room of the White House this holiday season. This special tree has to fit exacting specifications to go on display is such a historic room.
”We consider size, shape, how straight the tree is and, of course how good it smells,” said Haney. Typically, it can take as many as 15 years to grow a tree of average height (6 to 7 feet) or as little as four years, but the average growing time is six to eight years. To harvest a tree as large as the one going to the White House, 25 years or more can be the wait time.
”We are honored to have the opportunity to represent the Christmas tree growers of America, by continuing the tradition of providing a farm-grown Christmas tree to the White House Blue Room, which will be viewed by millions of people,” said Sam Cartner. Cartner went on to explain that he named this specific tree “Tremendous,” as it holds tremendous meaning carrying hope and happiness to all those affected by Hurricane Helene recently in North Carolina.
”It means so much to have this tree come from Avery County, especially after what all everyone has been through,” Cartner said. “We’re very proud to represent Avery County and other Western North Carolina counties that grow Christmas trees. We want it to symbolize all the good of mankind and what we’ve experienced here in the last month since the storm.”
”North Carolina has a great agricultural system and heritage, and the trees here are fantastic; and this year in particular, because of all they’ve been through in the last month, it shows the resilience of North Carolina,” said Downing.
”A tree is a sign of hope, and that is so true in this instance,” Haney added.
Other Christmas tree species grown in North Carolina include Canaan fir, Concolor fir, Nordman fir, Turkish fir, blue spruce, Norway spruce, white spruce, Eastern red cedar, Leyland cypress, ‘Carolina Sapphire’ Arizona cypress, ‘Blue Ice’ Arizona cypress, ‘Green Giant’ arborvitae, white pine, Virginia pine, and Scotch pine, but the Fraser Fir stands tall above the rest, being the most used tree for Christmas in history.
The Fraser fir is native to the Western Appalachian Mountains and has incomparable needle retention, meaning they can be harvested earlier, and the needles stay on longer, allowing for earlier harvest shipping and display yet maintaining strong branches for heavy ornaments with soft, pleasant-totouch dark green needles.
Members of the National Christmas Tree Association have presented the official White House Christmas tree for display in the Blue Room since 1966. 2024 will mark the 59th year a member of the National Christmas Tree Association has presented the official White House Christmas Tree and the 16th year the tree has came from Avery County.
The National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA) was founded in 1955. It is the national trade association and advocacy organization for the farm-grown Christmas tree industry, leading its public policy/governmental affairs and serving as the “voice of the industry” with the media. NCTA represents hundreds of active member farms, 38 state and regional associations, and more than 4,000 affiliated businesses that grow and sell Christmas trees or provide related services.
History runs deep with the Cartner family in Avery County, specifically in the realm of Christmas tree farming. The Cartners have been making a impact in Christmas trees in Avery County since 1959 with Sam and Margaret Cartner. “Mr. Cartner, their (Cartners) father was one of the very first people to start the Christmas tree industry in Avery County after the flood in the 50s, and I think it’s neat that in this time of dire hopelessness, it’s the same family giving out hope with this tree,” said Avery Extension Director Moody.
Cartner Christmas Tree Farm is a family owned and operated business in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina which has been serving select garden centers and independent retailers across America for more than fifty years. The farm is now managed by Sam Sr.’s three sons, David, Jim and Sam Cartner Jr. David, a lawyer, practices with his wife in Asheville, NC. On the farm, David is responsible for sales and shipping logistics. Jim Cartner owns and operates a veterinarian clinic in Statesville, NC. Jim visits the farm throughout the year and assists with order loading during harvest. Sam Cartner is a veterinarian and Director of the Animal Resources Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He makes frequent trips to the farm and visits customers throughout the year. Ronnie Beam, the field manager, implements the production aspects of the farm and is directly responsible for selection and tagging, as well as equipment maintenance.
Each holiday season people find themselves confronted with a choice: Celebrate with a fresh real tree or one that is artificial plastic or aluminum. With some exceptions, most come to the conclusion that the best choice is the traditional and natural choice of a real Christmas tree. There are many positive impacts of a the real tree, including that as they grow, real Christmas trees support life by absorbing carbon dioxide and other gases and emitting fresh oxygen, enough to support 18 humans a day per tree. Christmas trees are often grown on soil that does not support other crops. The farms that grow Christmas trees stabilize the soil, protect water supplies and provide refuge for wildlife. Also farm-grown trees are biodegradable, which means they can easily be reused or recycled for mulch or other purposes. The real Christmas tree is a contrast to artificial trees which are generally engineered as a petroleum-based product which the average family uses for only six to nine years before throwing it away, where it assumes space in a landfill.
Christmas trees make up a greater picture than just a pretty decoration, however. There are close to 13,000 farms growing Christmas trees in the U.S., and an estimated 100,000 people are employed full-time or part-time in the industry. According to the Census of Agriculture, there are approximately 17 million Christmas trees harvested in the U.S. every year. More than 400,000 were harvested in Avery County alone in 2022, among 201 farms.
The 20-foot-tall tree will be cut on November 20, and will be sent to Washington, where a presentation to the First Lady will be made before the tree is taken to the Blue Room. For many, the Fraser Fir is a staple for their home to represent Christmastime. There will also be a “send off party” held at Mountain Glen Golf Club the same day, which will also act as a toy drive.
For information on real Christmas tree selection and care tips, or to find a Christmas tree farm or lot in your area, visit www. realchristmastrees.org.
