 The National Park Service believes this tree was obtained from the Office of Public Buildings and Public Parks of the National Capitol (an independent federal agency) in the spring of 1931.During the 1931 ceremony, a buzzer went off when Hoover lit the tree at 5 p.m. Because the button he pressed was not actually connected to the electricity, the buzzer alerted another official to actually light the tree.The button the president pushed would not be reconnected to actual electricity again until 1980.