PICKENS - All West Virginians will experience pride this month when President Lynden [sic] Johnson throws the switch to light the Christmas tree on the White House lawn.

None, however, will be as thrilled as the handful of residents of Turkeybone Settlement here in the heart of Rich Mountain, Randolph County.

It was here that the mammoth 101-year-old red spruce was produced. Folks from miles around showed up to participate in a simple dedication and picture taking ceremony just before the huge tree was felled.

The tree was owned by "Aunt" Mary Winkler, a kindly old lady, who with her nephew, Luther Winkler, operate the old Casper Winkler homestead on top of Turkey Ridge.

Dr. Walter Fix, of Martinsburg, representative of the National Christmas Tree Growers Assn. from West Virginia and vice president of the West Virginia Assn., headed the groups which searched the state for this tree, along with Joe Yeager, area extension development agent, West Virginia University. These two men negotiated and supervised the removal of the tree from its rugged mountainous environs.

The tree is reported to be one of the largest ever to grace the White House lawn. It is 78 feet high with a branch spread of 36 1/2 feet. It weights an estimated 4,000 pounds.

Two pieces of heavy equipment - a bulldozer and a giant crane - were required to pull the tree in 14 inches of snow from the spot where it fell, to the nearest road almost a quarter of a mile away.

Hope Gas Co. in Clarksburg provided the dragging and hoisting equipment. The J. A. Prather Transportation Co. of Martinsburg provided the rig which carried the tree to Washington. Because of the width of the load, a special police escort was necessary to clear traffic lanes all the way to the capital.

Arden Coger, West Virginia's national wood chopping champion of Webster Springs, chopped down the tree.

In Washington, the tree will be decorated with 4,600 ornamental bulbs, and over 8,000 lights. Fifty satellite trees, representing one for each State, will form a lane leading to the Nativity scene near the national Christmas tree. They, too, are products of West Virginia's forests and were donated by the West Virginia Christmas Tree Growers Assn.

This was not the first gift to the White House from Mary Winkler. In the mid-1920's, "Aunt" Mary presented a prize dahlia to the family of President Calvin Collidge [sic] for planting on the White House lawn. The Winkler family had a hobby of growing and developing prize dahlia species and giving them prominent names. One dahlia was named for Calvin Collidge [sic] Jr., the President's son. The dahlia become known to President and Mrs. Coolidge who requested the flower and planted it on the White House lawn.

"Aunt" Mary is one of the legendary ladies of this county. She was a pioneer fire spotter in Randolph County for the Conservation Commission years ago. Her tower was a tree stump located on one of the higher points on Rich Mountain. She gained fame for her observation spot which she transformed into something resembling a shrine, with plantings and cultivation of indigenous wildflowers. The spot is still maintained by her.

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