White House Christmas tree in 1997 there were 36, in 2008 there were 27. Traditionally, the tree in the Blue Room is the official White House Christmas tree. The White House Christmas tree usually stands nearly 20 feet tall and the crystal chandelier in the Blue Room must be removed for the tree to fit the room. Frequently, the tree's height is reported as 18 or 18½ feet tall. The Blue Room tree is donated each year by the National Christmas Tree Association (NCTA). The NCTA has donated the tree since 1966; it is chosen through a contest among members of the trade group.
Franklin Pierce Rice (later to become the Worcester Historical Museum), Rice was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Society in 1906. Rice was also a member of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, the Worcester Natural History Society (serving as director from 1894 to 1909), and the Bunker Hill Monument Association. Rice died on 3 January 1919 in Worcester, Massachusetts. Franklin Pierce Rice was a direct patrilineal descendant of Edmund Rice, an English immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony, as follows: Franklin Pierce Rice Franklin Pierce Rice (1852–1919) was a self-taught printer and publisher who transcribed and printed and preserved vital records from Massachusetts