Most days, as Deb and Ed Kingdon Jr. go about their business as drivers for North Carolina-based Hardy Brothers Trucking, they do so without so much as a passing glance from fellow motorists.
But on a 1,000-mile run back in November, the husband-and-wife team enjoyed the star treatment as they hauled the 2022 Capitol Christmas Tree from The Tar Heel State to Washington, D.C. Whether at scheduled stops or just cruising down the highway, they were in the spotlight wherever they went.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
After all, it’s not every day you see a colorful Kenworth towing an 80-foot flatbed trailer, loaded with a gigantic evergreen — cradled in a special frame and protected from the elements — and decked out in banners and other adornments.
“When people saw it, it was pretty exciting to watch their reactions,” Ed said. “Sometimes, as we were going by, you actually could see their jaw drop.”
It’s not every day that a state, let alone a trucking company or individual drivers, is charged with such precious cargo. Each year, a different national forest is chosen to contribute the Capitol Christmas Tree, which is popularly known as “The People’s Christmas Tree.”
In 2022 that honor fell to North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest for only the third time in history — and for the first time, Hardy Brothers Trucking was picked as the designated hauler.
Ed and Deb, who normally haul dry goods out to the West Coast and return with a load of produce, were chosen for the honor from among the company’s 100 drivers. Their selection was part of a months-long process to bring the tree from the mid-Atlantic to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.
“We’ve been involved in the process from the selection in July. We’ve been in it from the very beginning,” Ed said.
Once the tree was harvested in early November and loaded onto a trailer, transporting the 78-foot red spruce — nicknamed Ruby — was hardly a covert affair. Under the theme, “From the Mountains to the Sea,” the couple’s route included nearly 20 events in various communities in North Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Accompanied by a crew of U.S. Forest Service personnel, Ed and Deb drew a crowd wherever they went.
“It was a circuitous route that we took, because we had particular communities that invited us to stop and exhibit the tree,” Ed said. “There was a huge banner on the side (of the trailer), and at each stop people could sign the banner. On the back of the trailer, the banner told where we were going. Kenworth did a beautiful job with the wrap on the cab of the truck. It was very identifiable.”
The colorful Kenworth tractor and trailer generated almost as much interest from passersby on the highway transit as it did during scheduled stops, tricked out as it was with banners announcing the celebrity cargo.
“It was very identifiable,” Deb said. “At night, the top of Ruby, which was at the very end of the trailer, was decorated with Christmas lights and ornaments. People were so excited when they saw that and realized what it was.
“A lot of people we’d see went around us and parked on the side of the road and quickly got out with their cameras as we went by,” he continued. “We loved to honk the horn as they did that. Gotta hit the air horn.”
The driving duo said the Kenworth T680 Next Gen rig, which features a 76-inch mid-roof sleeper, a PACCAR Powertrain and advanced driver assistance systems, performed without problems in pulling the 80-foot trailer. Nevertheless, handling the truck in close quarters to get to the in-town events made for some interesting moments.
“The truck handled beautifully; the only difference is that it’s very long. You constantly needed to keep looking at the mirrors to make sure your back tandems were between the yellow and white lines,” Deb said.
“It took some negotiating in some of the local towns, definitely,” Ed said. “It’s certainly honed my backing-up skills.”
Dale Norman, director of sales and marketing for Hardy Brothers Trucking, a hauler of freight and refrigerated goods, said the process of selecting the drivers to transport the precious cargo was a challenge, but that he believes the Kingdons were precisely the right people.
“Selection of the driving team was difficult,” Norman said. “First off, we had to find a team that was willing to go out and be on the road for nearly a month. That was somewhat of an eliminator, because even though this is a great honor, many drivers have families at home, and they have to keep up with everything there.”
In addition to Ed and Deb’s driving records, Norman said Ed’s military service, which included a duty assignment at Joint Base Andrews, was also a big factor in the decision. Both drivers have been active in the annual Wreaths Across America program, in which motor carriers and drivers from around the nation band together to deliver thousands of evergreen wreaths to veterans’ cemeteries across the U.S.
For their part, the Kingdons, who have been driving together for four-and-a-half years, said the Christmas tree run was every bit as meaningful as any experience they’ve had behind the wheel.
“To see the joy and gratitude … we’ve had so many people who came up and said, ‘Thank you for coming to our community,’” Ed said. “But more than that, this was an opportunity to take advantage of educating the public about the red spruce and what is going to happen from here. Ruby’s seeds are going to be harvested, and they’re going to germinate the seeds and grow hundreds — maybe thousands — more red spruce because they need more in the forests.
“The trunk of the tree is going back to North Carolina to a musical instrument company, because the red spruce makes beautiful mandolins, guitars, banjos and violins,” he continued. “So, this was more than a pretty tree, and it’s not just harvesting the tree and taking it away. It’s a restoration project; it’s an instrument project.”
As the journey ended Nov. 18 with the delivery and setting up of Ruby at the Capitol, Deb was philosophical about the once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“It was pretty personal for me, because I thought of Ruby in her cradle back there as my own personal tree that I got safely get to the Capitol,” she said. “So, when they hoisted her on that crane and put her down that hole, I had goose bumps. I might have had a few tears as well when I said good-bye to her. But knowing she’s coming back in a much greater way to North Carolina, with the musical instruments and the trees that will be generated, that’s very touching for me.”
The 2022 Capitol Christmas Tree marks the 57th year of the haul. This year’s primary sponsor was Truckstop.
Dwain Hebda is a freelance journalist, author, editor and storyteller in Little Rock, Arkansas. In addition to The Trucker, his work appears in more than 35 publications across multiple states each year. Hebda’s writing has been awarded by the Society of Professional Journalists and a Finalist in Best Of Arkansas rankings by AY Magazine. He is president of Ya!Mule Wordsmiths, which provides editorial services to publications and companies.
