Reagan Library Christmas Tree Exhibit Pays Tribute To Every Decade Of American History

SIMI VALLEY (CBS) — The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library is getting transformed for the holidays.

Chief among the decorations is an aisle of Christmas trees that have been carefully decorated with the season -- and history -- in mind.

There is a tree for every decade since 1770, capturing the history, the inventions and the fun of the era. It's part of an exhibit called "An American Christmas."

"Welcome to the 1960s -- it's a rather chaotic tree for a very chaotic decade," said Sharon Herrington, an exhibit curator.

The tree is adorned with news clippings, trinkets and pop culture paraphernalia from that time: a newspaper emblazened with the headline "Kennedy Assassinated", a "Reagan For Governor" campaign flier, a miniature spaceship and troll dolls.

Finding some of the artifacts took months and assembling each tree took days.

"It's a lot of work," said volunteer Helena Bellion. "And it's fun to brainstorm with a great bunch of girls."

The tree for the 1770s is wrapped with ribbons of red, white and blue to celebrate our country's newfound freedom.

Also on display is a collection of hand-crafted menorahs given to President Reagan at the White House.

The exhibit opens Nov. 18 and is set to run until Jan. 8.