NAMPA, Idaho — Jim and Susan Gramkow donated the 55' Colorado Blue Spruce from their front yard to the Nampa Train Depot. City crews moved it 1.5 miles to its location in front of the Nampa Train Depot in time for the holidays.
- The tree weighs 12,200 pounds and will be mulched and recycled throughout the city's parks after the holidays.
- Over the next two to three days, crews will repair damage to the tree from lying on its side during transit.
- The city will officially light the tree the Saturday following Thanksgiving.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"Several times we thought this would make a great Christmas Tree," recalls Nampa homeowner Jim Gramkow.
12,200 pounds, about 55 feet tall, and 50 years old. Jim and Susan Gramkow have gone out on a limb and donated the tree they've known for over 30 years.
After decades of holidays at their home, the Gramkow's now-adult daughter will finally get to see the tree live out its potential.
"She grew up here all her 'growing up' years - she always wanted to decorate this tree, we had no way of decorating that whole tree," remembers Susan Gramkow, "She did sneak bulbs from our tree out and put on it a few times."
Nampa's Christmas tree made the mile-and-a-half journey across town on Monday, people pining for views every step of the way to the 10-foot-deep tree stand in front of the Nampa Train Depot. Along the way, crews collected fallen limbs and spruced up with a street sweeper.
"Oftentimes there's significant damage to one side of the tree that was laying on the trailer and that requires a lot of repair," says Nampa's Forester Adam Mancini.
But those repairs don't leave the team stumped.
"It takes us two to three days to repair the damage done with use of bailing wire, screws, and even some lag bolts, we're able to reconstruct the tree in a way that you would never even know that it was damaged in the first place," he adds.
