U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry carried the Together Tree, bound for the Alaska Governor’s Mansion, up from Wrangell where it was harvested after a brief delay due to some mechanical issues. (USCG photo / Petty Officer 2nd Class Lexie Preston)

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry carried the Together Tree, bound for the Alaska Governor’s Mansion, up from Wrangell where it was harvested after a brief delay due to some mechanical issues. (USCG photo / Petty Officer 2nd Class Lexie Preston)

A tree-mendous journey: Governor’s mansion tree arrives in Juneau

No weather or floating lines could stay these Coast Guardsmen about their task.

Through snow, storm and errant line, the Together Tree, the Christmas tree designated for display at the Alaska Governor’s Mansion, arrived in Juneau over the weekend.

Originally intended to arrive last week, mechanical issues from a fouled propeller delayed its debarkation in Juneau until Monday morning.

Harvested by the U.S.Forest Service in Wrangell and transported by the U.S. Coast Guard to Juneau, its presence here is the product of the labor of many groups and people, said Erica Keene, a Forest Service public affairs specialist.

“The ceremony in Wrangell was pretty cool, it was pretty cool to be part of that,” said Senior Chief Petty Officer Garrett Kravitz, captain of the USCGC Elderberry, the Coast Guard buoy tender which transported the shore pine. “After the ceremony, the people of Wrangell brought it down and loaded it up.”

[Christmas season begins in Douglas with songs and lights]

As the Elderberry set sail with the tree lashed safely to the deck, its propeller became entangled in a length of line, overheating the ship’s diesels, delaying the tree’s journey north while the crew freed the prop, Kravitz said, pushing the tree’s arrival about five days closer to Christmas.

Coast Guardsmen and state employees load the Together Tree bound for the Alaska Governor’s Mansion on a truck on Nov. 29, 2021 after the Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry transported the tree from Wrangell. (USCG photo / Petty Officer 2nd Class Lexie Preston)

Coast Guardsmen and state employees load the Together Tree bound for the Alaska Governor’s Mansion on a truck on Nov. 29, 2021 after the Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry transported the tree from Wrangell. (USCG photo / Petty Officer 2nd Class Lexie Preston)

Each year, the community that provides the tree rotates, said the Forest Service’s Wrangell district ranger Clint Kolarich in a phone interview. Ketchikan was initially slated to provide the tree, but with a new Forest Service ranger in the Ketchikan district with a lot on their plate, the arrangement was reshuffled. Schoolchildren in Ketchikan made ornaments with thin-cut slices of an alder tree for the Together Tree, Kolarich said.

“Wrangell folks took care of the tree, and Ketchikan folks worked with Ketchikan schools to provide the ornaments,” Kolarich said. “It takes a village. The ranger does very little — the district staff does all the work. Our vegetation management — our timber folks — have obviously a really good knowledge of our district and vegetation. I turn it over to them to locate the perfect tree. There’s about four of them that are scouting out, locating the perfect tree.”

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry arrives in Juneau late on Nov. 27, 2021, bearing the Christmas tree due for the Alaska Governor’s Mansion from Wrangell. (USCG photo / Chief Petty Offcer Kip Wadlow)

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry arrives in Juneau late on Nov. 27, 2021, bearing the Christmas tree due for the Alaska Governor’s Mansion from Wrangell. (USCG photo / Chief Petty Offcer Kip Wadlow)

After being identified, the sustainably grown, young-growth shore pine was brought to the Chief Shakes Tribal House for a ceremony by the Wrangell Cooperative Association, the local tribal organization, before being loaded aboard the Elderberry, Kolarich said. Four out of five of the last Together Trees have been transported by the Coast Guard, Keene said.

“The cool thing about the tree is that it’s brought a lot of communities together,” Keene said in an interview. “The tree comes from Wrangell, the ornaments come from Ketchikan, there’s multiple federal agencies involved.”

1Coast Guardsmen and state employees carry the Together Tree, bound for the Alaska Governor’s Mansion, up from the pier on Nov. 29, 2021 after the Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry transported the tree from Wrangell. (USCG photo / Petty Officer 2nd Class Lexie Preston)

1Coast Guardsmen and state employees carry the Together Tree, bound for the Alaska Governor’s Mansion, up from the pier on Nov. 29, 2021 after the Coast Guard Cutter Elderberry transported the tree from Wrangell. (USCG photo / Petty Officer 2nd Class Lexie Preston)

Once the crew of eight of the 67-year-old Elderberry got the tree safely to Juneau, state employees picked it up and conveyed it to the governor’s mansion.

When the Elderberry suffered its initial engine problem, Keene said, the Forest Service had looked at using the Alaska Marine Highway System to transport the tree, but ultimately went with the Coast Guard.

“We can thank the harbormaster and city of Wrangell for allowing the cutter to moor overnight and use the dock facilities,” Kolarich said. “I think the fact that we did it across islands with a couple communities is really cool. And I think having the schools involved is awesome.”

• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.

More in News

KTOO, Juneau's public radio station, is photographed in Juneau, Alaska, on Friday, July 11, 2025. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Public radio facing cuts as Congress moves to pull back funding

KTOO could lose one-third of its budget if the House passes a bill cutting funding for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting

Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo
The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14.
Ships in port for the week of July 19

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2025 schedule.… Continue reading

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Thursday, July 17, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

Eaglecrest Ski Area. (Ben Hohenstatt | Juneau Empire File)
Hiker rescued from gully at Eaglecrest

The woman got stuck in a gully after taking a wrong turn

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, July 16, 2025

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

The Dimond Courthouse in Juneau, Alaska, is seen in this undated photo. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire file)
Juneau man pleads guilty to murder of infant

James White pleaded guilty yesterday to the murder of 5-and-half-week-old Kathy White

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Megan Dean shakes hands with the new Arctic District commander Rear Admiral Bob Little on Friday. Vice Admiral Andrew J. Tiongson, commander of the Pacific Area, smiles. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
US Coast Guard receives new commander, new name for Alaska

The Arctic District’s new icebreaker will visit Juneau next month

City and Borough of Juneau City Hall is photographed on July 12, 2025, in Juneau, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Juneau Empire file)
Municipal election candidate filing period opens July 18

The filing period runs from July 18 at 8 a.m. to July 28 at 4:30 p.m.

The Mendenhall River roars more than 13 feet above normal levels in August 2023. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Suicide Basin predicted to fill by Aug. 8

The change in the prediction of when the basin will fill was based on heavy rain last week

Most Read