A tree from the yard of Rick and Bobbie Weatherholt stands in the Capitol rotunda in Lincoln.
A tree from the yard of Rick and Bobbie Weatherholt is loaded up and sent to the State Capitol.
A 30-foot-tall tree from Rick and Bobbie Weatherholt of Seward is the featured Christmas tree at the Nebraska State Capitol in 2019.
Rick Weatherholt said the donation came thanks to a conversation with a neighbor.
“I was talking to my neighbor, Chuck Kotera, one day back in the summer of 2018 about how that tree was getting too big and just needed to maybe go. He said you should call the capitol and see if they would take it for their Christmas tree,” Weatherholt said in an email.
“So I did, and they put me in touch with the grounds guy who is in charge of that. He came and looked at it and said they would take it. That was the summer of 2018 and he said they already had one for that year but they would take it in 2019. I said, ‘OK, deal.’
“On Dec. 2, they came and got it and then the lighting ceremony was on the eighth at the Capitol.
“We had pictures with the governor in front of the tree, so it was cool. Our kids were there also and my parents, as well.
“The guy who sets it all up and came to look at the tree and said that he chooses one tree to use out of about 12 to 15. So that means they really liked it and made it special for us to know that our tree was going to be enjoyed by many people.
“We have had a lot of comments on it because it has been on TV and they have mentioned our names a few times on different TV stations during the news.”
According to the capitol website, www.capitol.nebraska.gov, the tree will be taken down soon after Christmas.
