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Nashville family donates Tennessee’s Christmas tree





The Barry family tree will be displayed at the Capitol during the 2022 holiday season.Courtesy / Barry family

The Barry family tree will be displayed at the Capitol during the 2022 holiday season.Courtesy / Barry family

Last Tuesday night at their home in Inglewood, Joe and Suzie Barry hosted a going-away party for a Christmas tree.

The next day, the 30-foot-tall spruce in their front yard would make the trip to the Capitol in downtown Nashville, where it would become Tennessee’s Christmas tree.

The Barrys bought the tree in 2001, right before their daughter Sarah’s first birthday on Dec. 28.

“We went to a nursery and bought a tree with a root ball so that we could plant that tree to watch them both grow together,” Suzie said.

After Christmas, the Barrys planted the tree outside and have decorated it for Christmas every year since then with lights and ornaments.

The tree was initially only three or four feet tall, Joe said, and for the first 10-15 years, he’d have to buy another roll of lights to put on the tree. More recently, he’s had to buy two more rolls of lights a year.

The tree got so big he had to make a metal contraption with a hook to hang the lights on it, and eventually, he could only put lights on the front.

Sarah Barry in 2001 in front of the tree her parents bought.Courtesy / Barry family

Sarah Barry in 2001 in front of the tree her parents bought.Courtesy / Barry family

The tree served as a landmark for friends to find the Barry house, and neighbors would stop by during the holidays to get pictures with a wooden Santa statue and the tree.

“It was beautiful when we have had a big snow and that ice storm,” Suzie said. “Boy, it would just pack on the snow, and the icicles would drip, and then they’d refreeze, and it was amazing how it just held all that.”

Sarah remembers watching the tree grow through the years and said she especially loved the light green sprouts in the spring.

“It was kind of through being at home during quarantine that I just really kind of stared at it all day and noticed how large it was getting,” she said.

A few years ago, the Barry family was driving downtown and saw the Capitol Christmas tree. They noticed it looked like their tree, and an idea was born.

This summer, Suzie called the Capitol and asked how she could donate the tree. She thought there would be a long list of people, but the Barrys were actually the second tree on the list.

The Barry tree covered in snow.Courtesy / Barry family

The Barry tree covered in snow.Courtesy / Barry family

After the first tree fell through and the details were worked out, the Barry’s tree was hoisted into the air with two cranes and taken to its new home Nov. 16.

At the “Bye Tree” party the night before, the Barrys and their neighbors took pictures with the tree, listened to Christmas music, drank hot chocolate and ate Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes.

On Monday night, the tree will be featured at the Christmas at the Capitol celebration that Joe and Suzie plan to attend.

“The tree in my mind looks bigger at the Capitol than it did here,” Joe said.

Sarah will be back at college in Louisville, Kentucky, but she plans to drive past it many times while she’s home for Christmas break. Suzie has already been to see the tree three times.

Both the Barry family dog and the local birds have been confused with the gap left by the tree, but the state of Tennessee will be providing one to go in its place.

 

 

The Barrys are planning to put their new tree back in the same spot and decorate it. Suzie is hoping for a red maple to see the seasons change on the tree.

On Dec. 27, the Barry tree will be removed from the Capitol, made into wood chips and given to Metro Parks for trail maintenance.

To keep the spirit of the old tree alive, Suzie is incorporating some of its branches into their Nativity scene and has put some shavings and sprigs into clear ornaments, so the legacy of the tree can continue on their new indoor Christmas trees.

“Those little trees have been harvested, and they are waiting for someone to love them,” Suzie said. “It’s important for me to go out there and adopt a tree.”

What: Christmas at the Capitol celebration

When: Monday, Nov. 28 at 5:30 p.m. Event is free and open to the public

Where: State capitol building, downtown Nashville.

Note: The King’s Academy Children’s Choir and the 129th Army Band are scheduled to perform. Visitors can bring donations to benefit the Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home, including men’s shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

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