The holiday season has begun at Omaha’s Durham Museum with the delivery of the annual Christmas tree on Monday.
Each year Union Pacific provides a bridge maintenance crew to cut down the Durham Museum’s annual Christmas tree. The tradition started in the 1930s, with UP bringing trees by train from the Pacific Northwest. That changed in the 1970s, when the trees started being locally sourced.
For Keegan Smutz, this will be his 10th year working with the Durham.
“It’s just something awesome, to be part of something so big in Omaha,” said Smutz. “A lot of planning goes into it and it always comes out really well. Like I said, I mean, it’s like the Rockefeller Center tree, but for Omaha.”
This year the tree was donated by the Maszk family. The daughter of the tree owners, Caley Maszk, said it was her idea to donate the tree.
“I think I said the idea to my parents made a couple years ago to donate the tree because I saw it was getting big, and I just love the idea of creating that festive cheer during the holiday season,” Maszk said. “It’s very important.”
She added the tree was planted in 1993, the year she was born. She said it was sad to see it go, but that her and her parents were happy to do it for the Omaha community.
Without fail, Smutz’s family shows up each year to root for him as they pull the tree into the great hall of the Durham. He said he has 25 years left with Union Pacific, and he looks forward to this tradition every year. Keegan and his Union Pacific-crew will spend this week decorating the tree with lights and ornaments. The tree lighting ceremony is on Nov. 29 from 5-8 p.m. at the Durham Museum.