New Hampshire Country Home Ornaments Decorate Washington Tree
NHPeace
New Hampshire Union Leader
Kendra Gilbert
Boston University Washington News Service
12-7-06
WASHINGTON, Dec. 7 – As President Bush lit the National Christmas Tree Thursday night, a little piece of New Hampshire hung nearby on the state’s Christmas tree as part of the 2006 Pageant of Peace.
Make that 50 little pieces.
Every year one organization from each of the 56 states, territories and the District of Columbia is asked to decorate a tree to represent that jurisdiction at the Pageant of Peace.
Since 1983, Hampshire Pewter of Wolfeboro has donated 50 ornaments each year to decorate New Hampshire’s tree in the nation’s capital.
“It’s always been a nice tradition for the last 24 years,” said Abe Neudorf, co-owner and president of Hampshire Pewter.
This year’s ornament, made from the company’s “secret formula” pewter, depicts a country home nestled deep in a New Hampshire forest, with a cardinal in the foreground.
“It’s fitting,” Katie Roberts said of the ornament’s country home theme.
Roberts and friend Jill Laroe, both of Hudson, were visiting Washington on the night of the tree lighting and stopped to look at their home state’s tree.
“It’s a wonderful idea having every state represented,” Roberts said.
After lengthy discussion that started in January and requests from customers for something homey, the theme for this year’s ornament was set, Neudorf said.
“Basically, we never stop thinking about the ornament for the tree,” Neudorf said, “because every year we know we have to come up with another humdinger.”
The company, founded in 1974, always sees a high demand for the special ornament in its four retail stores located throughout New Hampshire, Neudorf said.
Included with the 50 ornaments that were shipped to Washington in November was this note Neudorf wrote explaining the significance of this year’s design:
“Out past the skyscrapers and billboards, beyond the crowded streets and traffic lights, down the long driveway and through the trees lies a beautiful place we call our country home. The New Hampshire mountains, lakes and forests provide many quiet places to call home. Whether your home is quietly nestled in the New Hampshire countryside, neatly placed in a suburb or standing tall in a city, our hope for you is that your heart will never have far to go to find home.”
After all, there’s no place like home for the holidays.
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