In Wyoming, we brand ornaments

Gray smoke poured off a round piece of pine Monday morning while Rancher Jerry Geer watched the three parts of his brand sear wet wood. It took two swoops over a “G” combined with the slice of lodge pole pine to make a Christmas ornament with a uniquely Wyoming flair. Before long, that Quarter Circle G Quarter Circle brand will hang on the Capitol Christmas tree. “I am really proud to be able to send that to Washington,” Geer said, pointing at the smoldering ornament. “I think that Wyoming is still an agriculture state and a ranching state. I think it is a great idea to send branded ornaments.” The brand, originally registered to Geer’s grandfather in 1919, will be on display on the Capitol lawn for the holidays. It will be among 6,000 ornaments that will need to accompany the 60-foot tree from Wyoming to Washington, D.C. The 8-inch disc of pine will get a loop of lace and some berries to finish it as an ornament for the national Christmas tree. Each pine ornament will have a Wyoming brand on one side and a brand of the Wyoming bucking horse on the back...more