A 40-foot blue spruce tree makes its way north on Tenth Street in Omaha on its way to the Durham Museum.
CHRIS MACHIAN, Omaha WORLD-HERALD
A 40-foot blue spruce makes its way north on Tenth Street to the Durham Western Heritage Museum on Monday. The tree will be the Durham Museum’s 2022 Christmas tree.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
A worker connects a 40-foot-tall blue spruce tree to a crane before cutting the trunk.
JOE DEJKA, Omaha WORLD-HERALD
Janice Teegarden anxiously watches Monday as workers begin to bring down the blue spruce tree in her front yard in west Omaha. Teegarden bought the tree in 1987. It's now 40 feet tall.Ìý
JOE DEJKA, Omaha WORLD-HERALD
Family members watch as workers prepare to lift a blue spruce tree that has been in their yard since 1987 onto a truck for transport to the Durham Museum in downtown Omaha.
JOE DEJKA, Omaha WORLD-HERALD
Janice Teegarden receives a slice of the tree trunk from Keegan Smutz, the worker who cut down the spruce that will be used for the Durham Museum's Christmas tree this year. “It went pretty smooth,†Smutz said of the operation. “Nice weather. A little cold, but no snow or rain. So that went nice. Everything lined up just like it should have today.â€Ìý
JOE DEJKA, Omaha WORLD-HERALD
Workers hoist a blue spruce tree onto a truck Monday to take it to the Durham Museum in downtown Omaha, where it will serve as the museum's Christmas tree.
JOE DEJKA, Omaha WORLD-HERALD
The Durham Museum’s 2022 Christmas tree, a 40-foot blue spruce, is lowered into the area in front of the museum Monday.Ìý
OMAHA — A tiny blue spruce tree rescued from a sale table grew into the Durham Museum’s 2022 Christmas tree.
Janice Teegarden and her partner, Wayne Ogle, donated the tree to the museum.
The tree was bought for $5 back in August 1987 at an Omaha Shopko store. Teegarden, 70, said she had been looking for a blue spruce to plant in the front yard of their home near 134th Street and West Center Road.
“I found it in this pile of plants on a dead plant table for end-of-the-season sales,†she said. “I just thought that I’d give it a try because it was only about a foot high when we planted it.â€
Teegarden and Ogle, 77, faithfully watered the tree and gave it lots of plant food to see it through that first winter. Over the next 35 years, the tree grew to the point that it was taller than the house and wide enough that it nearly touched the large front window.
“We enjoyed watching the birds and squirrels making their homes in it, and we would decorate it with thousands of lights every Christmas,†Teegarden said. “My dad would back his pickup up to it and I’d stand in the back with a long pole putting the lights on it.â€
The 40-foot blue spruce was chosen from among about 50 trees offered to the Durham this year, said Jessica Brummer, a museum spokeswoman. She called Teegarden in October to give her the news it was selected.
“It came down to five trees that were all really beautiful,†Brummer said. “They were all perfect contenders, but the decision really came down to ease of access for transportation.â€
The tradition of a Christmas tree at the Durham goes back to the 1930s and the museum’s days as a train station. Union Pacific employees would cut down large evergreens in the Pacific Northwest and send them to Omaha’s Union Station.
There, they would be decorated and displayed for travelers. The station closed in 1971. The Western Heritage Museum — now known as the Durham — opened there in 1975, and the tree tradition resumed.
After a crew from Union Pacific’s bridges and buildings division took down the tree Monday morning, it was loaded onto a flatbed and taken to the Durham at 801 S. 10th St. Staff from Mangelsen’s will trim the tree with about 12,000 lights and hundreds of huge ornaments.
This year, the 91st anniversary of the opening of Union Station, all the lights on the tree will be white, as was the custom years ago, Brummer said. New ornaments also will be displayed, as will an art deco star that says “Established 1931.â€
The tree-lighting ceremony will take place at 7 p.m. Thanksgiving Day. The ceremony is not open to the public but can be seen on the museum’s , Facebook page and a YouTube channel. The 30-minute program will feature musical performances by the University of Nebraska at Omaha Concert Choir and a jazz band, Enjolie and Timeless.
Teegarden said she has invited about 20 family members to attend the lighting ceremony. It will be her first visit to the museum during the Christmas season, and she said she’s excited to share her tree with the community.
“It’s just been an important tree for me with all the pictures that I’ve taken of my (three) kids in front of it,†she said. “By donating it now (to the museum), it will bring joy to so many more people.â€
A 40-foot blue spruce makes its way north on Tenth Street to the Durham Western Heritage Museum on Monday. The tree will be the Durham Museum’s 2022 Christmas tree.
Janice Teegarden anxiously watches Monday as workers begin to bring down the blue spruce tree in her front yard in west Omaha. Teegarden bought the tree in 1987. It's now 40 feet tall.Ìý
Family members watch as workers prepare to lift a blue spruce tree that has been in their yard since 1987 onto a truck for transport to the Durham Museum in downtown Omaha.
Janice Teegarden receives a slice of the tree trunk from Keegan Smutz, the worker who cut down the spruce that will be used for the Durham Museum's Christmas tree this year. “It went pretty smooth,†Smutz said of the operation. “Nice weather. A little cold, but no snow or rain. So that went nice. Everything lined up just like it should have today.â€Ìý
Workers hoist a blue spruce tree onto a truck Monday to take it to the Durham Museum in downtown Omaha, where it will serve as the museum's Christmas tree.