Photos: Gateway Christmas tree starts trip to S.L.

A 46-foot pine tree that grew in the American Fork front yard of Doyle and Ann Shields will grace the Gateway Center this Christmas season. The tree was toppled Monday and prepared to be transported to Salt Lake City. Above, John Riley, with Kimball Property Maintenance, grimaces as he and other workers load the tree onto an oversized trailer. At left, Ann Shields watches as the tree is cut down. Shields said the Colorado blue spruce was planted in 1964 and had been a major part of her home's landscape, but had taken over her yard in recent years. "I thought it was too pretty a tree to cut down," she said, so she contacted the Gateway to see if the mall wanted the tree. Below, Stewart Perry, with Timberline Trees and Landscape, helps guide the tree onto the trailer after the trunk had been cut.