Sometimes Christmas decorations emerge from storage well before Thanksgiving. Some purists might scrunch their noses at the notion, but Dawn Hill and Leah Svendsen, co-chairs of “Christmas at the Capitol,” know preparation takes time – particularly if your display is arguably the largest in the state and called a “must-see” by several national publications.
Since the moment the display came down last year, Hill and Svendsen began working on this year’s holiday decorations. In the days leading up to the holiday season, the work comes down to the wire. Storage boxes of ornaments are at-the-ready in the tiled hallways. Several trees and bits have décor have been placed.
Thousands of folks make “Christmas at the Capitol” a part of their holiday celebrations. Svendsen points to the guest book and says, “We get visitors from all over the country and even other countries, sometimes to the tune of 25,000 visitors. And that's just the ones that sign our guest book.”
On November 14, the pièce de résistance arrived in front of the capitol building in Pierre. The state tree, the large evergreen that adorns the rotunda, may be selected from anywhere in the state. This year it originated in Pierre, just a few blocks away on Euclid Ave, in the front yard of Ciara Rounds and Andrew Forest.
Rounds and Forest are lifelong residents of Pierre. They moved to their current address just last February. “We noticed that the tree was kind of starting to outgrow the area, “ says Rounds. “There is another tree that is growing into it, so they're kind of starting to fight for space. We talked about removing the tree, but it feels so bad just cutting down in such a big tree. And so we thought, ‘how cool would it be if it could be the large Christmas tree in the Capitol?’”
Work began at 10 a.m. and by midday the large pine was relocated to the front steps of the capitol building. Fire retardant, which needs to dry overnight, is applied to every tree on display for the Christmas season.
While the event is all about the spectacle of 100+ trees decked out with ornaments and lights, co-chair Hill said that the highlight for her includes the people that she works with. “I think for me the most rewarding part is just the people I've gotten to know, the folks who put so much work into this. The decorating people are amazingly talented. The folks who line up our entertainment are extremely helpful. The buildings and grounds folks work so hard. It’s amazing.”
At 7 a.m. on November 15, grounds workers prepare to move the state tree into the capitol building. Ropes are tied to its trunk and strung up the steps and into the double front door. The door’s middle partition has to be removed to make space for the massive tree.
Some years the process is drawn out. Co-chair Svendsen recalls, “The squeeze is different every year. One year it easily slid right through. Kind of a disappointment from my vantage point, but the guys were super happy about it. And one year we pulled and pulled and even had to take a breather. We weren’t sure it was going to make it inside.”
Hill shares the account of her first tree from five years ago. “That was really cool. “Just like what happened today, it went the first time. It just went by really fast. I didn't know what to expect and I was standing in the wrong spot and I was trying torecord it on my camera and the tree just went by in a blur and I kind of missed the whole thing.”
As the representative from South Dakota Public Broadcasting on location for the task, I can relate. I was making adjustments on the camera when the crew started heaving. I thought the process would take maybe 15 minutes at least. By the time pulling began, the tree was inside the door within 90 seconds. Like Hill’s first experience, I only saw a blur of greenery go by.
The grounds crew are very good at what they do. “I'm so happy to be a part of this event every year,” says Svendsen. “t makes me appreciate Christmas more. It makes me appreciate the people that work in this building more, especially the ground staff. They work hard and they make this all happen. They do the electrical and they set up and flock the trees. I mean, we can't thank them enough for everything they do. So that's kind of the best part for me.”
More work needs to happen to finalize all of the details. Folks with the South Dakota Association of Realtors are decorating this year's state tree. The organization was selected to celebrate their 75th anniversary.
Tuesday, November 26, Christmas at the Capitol will officially commence with the tree lighting ceremony. Ciara Rounds and Andrew Forest plan to attend. Rounds reflected, “I've gone every year that I’ve lived here and it’s just cool to be able to be a part of it this year,” reflects Rounds. “This year’s theme is ‘Hometown.’ It is really neat now that this is both of our hometown and we get to give the main tree to the Capitol for all the people of the state to see. It's really special.”