Linemen Assist with National Christmas Tree
PrintPhotos by Randy Beacham
The Kootenai National Forest in Yaak Valley, Montana, was this year’s choice to locate the perfect “People’s Christmas Tree” to display at our nation’s Capitol in Washington, D.C.
The 2017 Capitol Christmas tree is an Engelmann spruce that grew up the road from NLI member and freelance photographer, Randy Beacham.
“This is my neighborhood, and I’ve walked past the Capitol Christmas Tree countless times, so I thought it would be interesting to document the presentation of “The People’s Tree,” says Randy. “A kind of strange and, as one neighbor said, quirky sort of event for a remote community in extreme northwest Montana.”
Randy photographed the event and was able to capture the moment NLI linemen Brent Gunter and Nick Durrant used an insulated extendo tool to raise the power lines for the Whitewood Transport truck as it began its memorable journey across the country.
