SAN ANTONIO — The U.S. Capitol Christmas tree lighting will take place on Tuesday, November 28, after a weeks-long journey to Washington D.C. The tree arrived in the nation’s capital the week before Thanksgiving, and a San Antonio man is being credited with its safe and successful arrival.
Jesus Davila, who drives for Werner Enterprises, was selected to deliver the 63-foot Norway spruce, which hailed from the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia.
“I grew up on the south side of San Antonio, attended Brackenridge High School,” Davila said. “To have an opportunity to do something like this on a national level is awesome.”
The tradition of the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree began in 1964, and is referred to as “The People’s Tree.” Since 1970, a different national forest has provided the tree each year. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Monongahela National Forest provided the Capitol Christmas Tree in 1970, and another in 1976.
Davila, a retired United States Marine, said he had an opportunity to tour the state of West Virginia and visit with its residents, providing them a chance to see the tree up close.
“They get excited and they light up,” Davila said. “It brings warmth to your heart to see something like this just be received so well by everyone in the community.”
After delivering the tree to the U.S. Capitol grounds earlier this month, Davila returned home to San Antonio, where his wife and young son were waiting. Davila plans to return to Washington D.C. to attend the lighting ceremony in person.
“It’s just going to be awesome feeling,” Davila said. “Professional drivers across the United States do a service behind the scenes by delivering a lot of the goods that consumers buy at the stores. Mostly everything you touch and own comes off a truck, so it’s just another way professional drivers do what we do. We keep America moving.”