‘Pretty Cool’: Larry Riccio’s Family Is Giving the 60-Foot Spruce That Outgrew Their Iron Mountain Property Since 1986 as Michigan’s 40th State Christmas Tree
Thursday, Nov. 5, a crew harvests the spruce in Iron Mountain. Saturday, Nov. 7, it stands on the Capitol lawn in Lansing. Friday, Nov. 20, it is lit. The 60-foot tree belongs to Larry Riccio’s family, and the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget announced it as the State of Michigan’s 40th Christmas tree.
Riccio told Upper Michigan’s Source that it is “pretty cool” to be able to say the family’s tree is the state Christmas tree. The family said it is excited and honored to donate this year’s tree.
A Spruce Already Large in 1986
The Riccio family bought their Iron Mountain house in 1986, when the spruce was already large. In the years since, the state says, it has outgrown the property.
The department chose the spruce, according to the station’s report of the Tuesday press release. The announcement does not give the tree’s age or explain how the department picked this spruce over others, so the 60-foot height and the 1986 purchase are the main details on record about where it came from.
Thursday in Iron Mountain, Saturday in Lansing
The Michigan Association of Timbermen, the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association and the department’s own Christmas tree crew handle the transport. The harvest is set for Thursday, Nov. 5, and the tree is due in downtown Lansing on Saturday, Nov. 7.
It will stand on the Capitol lawn near the corner of Capitol and East Michigan avenues. Local Boy Scout troops untie the tree when it arrives, and HI-Ball Company of Lansing supplies the crane and crew that lift it into place.
The City of Lansing’s forestry team then prepares the tree for lights and decorations. The lighting and decorations themselves are designed by the Michigan Capitol Commission and the Lansing Board of Water & Light, the state said.
The 26th Tree From the Upper Peninsula
The state described the spruce as the second tree from Iron Mountain and the 26th from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since an official tree began going to the Capitol each holiday season in 1987. That puts 26 of the Capitol’s trees in the Upper Peninsula over nearly four decades, and Iron Mountain has now supplied two of them.
What Silver Bells Brings to Downtown Lansing
The state said the lights come on Friday, Nov. 20, at the 42nd annual Silver Bells in the City, held rain or shine, with dignitaries switching them on at about 7:30 p.m. The Silver Bells in the City site lists the event from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in downtown Lansing and says it remains free to all, through sponsors and support from the State of Michigan and the City of Lansing.
The Electric Light Parade steps off at 6 p.m. at Lenawee Street and South Washington Square with more than 60 lighted units and several high school marching bands. The event also includes a community sing, a drone light show and fireworks over the Capitol, weather permitting. A holiday market called Silver Bells Village runs on the 100 East block of Allegan Street, and a 2026 commemorative snow globe ornament costs $32, with shipping beginning in the first week of November.
The organizers also run a text line for weather, traffic and emergency alerts on the night of the event, which attendees can reach by texting SilverBells to 78015.
Another Michigan Yard Tree on the Road
The Riccios are not the only Michigan family giving up a yard tree this season. The Cadillac News reported that Elaine Zinger of Mesick gave a Norway spruce planted more than 40 years ago in her front yard to Detroit, which lights it Nov. 20. UpNorthLive reported that crews cut that tree on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
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This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
Image: w_lemay – CC BY-SA 2.0/Wikimedia Commons
