SCHUYLKILL COUNTY, Pa. — Evergreen Acres Farm near auburn is home to the Shealer family and now the White House's principal Christmas tree.
But this isn't the first time White House officials have traveled to Schuylkill county for their Christmas tree display.
"Well, Schuylkill County is the leading Christmas tree producer in the state," said Paul Alan Shealer, Owner of Evergreen Acres Farm.
"We're looking for that tree that says 'White House Christmas' on it. We got to have a good height, 18' 6", we got to have good width, we got to have a good color, and we love to have a good smell," said Dale Haney, White House Grounds Superintendent.
After being crowned by the National Christmas Tree Association as 2022's Grand Champion Christmas Tree Growers, The Shealers hosted White House officials on their farm to pick out the Christmas tree that will be on display in the Blue Room.
"We work on it as soon as the holidays are over that year, we start to think about the next year. We've been working on it pretty seriously since June and a lot goes into it," said Robert Downing, White House Chief Usher.
After surviving the dry season, The Shealers say this accomplishment will hopefully help them recover from the losses they encountered because of the drought.
"The honor of being in the White House will help sales because we did suffer a financial loss this year. We were losing trees seven, 8 feet tall. Full-length trees that were going to be harvested this year, they died," said Paul Anthony Shealer, Evergreen Acres Tree Farm.
"And in a year that we had a severe drought, this will pay dividends. We matched the trees to site, and we didn't have near the loss of our young, newly planted seedlings like other farmers did," said Paul Alan Shealer.
This is the second time a tree from the Shealer's Farm has been selected for the White House's Christmas display, which officials say is one of the highest honors for a Christmas tree farm.
"This tree represents the American people, and we're there to represent the White House, the American people, and the First Family," said Haney.
The Shealer family will travel to Washington, D.C. on November 21 to personally deliver the Christmas tree to the First Lady.
Check out WNEP on YouTube. See below.