Christmas Season Brings Out Different Sellers

Ron Wilshire

Ron Wilshire

Published December 21, 2017 5:45 am
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NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT) – ‘Tis the season, and Christmas brings out many people selling fresh cut Christmas trees.

We talked to different sellers in the area, and all of them feel sales are stable this year.

The businesses ranged from just getting into selling trees a week ago to having sold trees for the last 27 years. All sellers were different sizes of businesses, but all are local businesses selling trees obtained from everywhere from Indiana to North Carolina.

It was a sudden decision for Heidi Byers and Andy Byers (pictured above) to open up a roadside tree sale stand on Brookville Street in Fairmount City along Route 28, across the road from Nolf Chrysler Dodge where Andy works. They were one of the early sellers, and we talked to them after their first week of sales.

“My husband said last Tuesday he thought we should sell Christmas trees this year,” said Amy.  “Two days later he said he was serious and wanted to sell them across the street. My mom, Karen Nolf, has the Mayport Mercantile store, and we bought the trees under the store’s name.”

“We’ve never done it, so we called a couple of places last Thursday and were told they didn’t have trees, and they were done for the year.  However, when we called Fleming’s Christmas Tree Farms in Indiana they said they had trees. We got 50 of them, and we just figured we would see how it goes this year—it’s a nice location.  My son Wyatt did a Facebook video, and we’ve actually sold 30 trees in a week which isn’t too bad for no advertising.”

“We’re pleased with how it has gone, and next year we’re planning to have a bigger setup and maybe have Santa, and we’ll do wreaths and poinsettias.  We’ll probably start earlier, maybe the week of Thanksgiving.  We’re having a lot of fun. My kids were there all weekend and helping people load them on their truck.”

Tree shortage?


News reports earlier in November warned that there might be a shortage of Christmas trees this year because the recession 10 years ago led growers to plant fewer trees, and now there aren’t enough.

“To make matters worse, experts say droughts and wildfires in some states may extend the shortage for several more years,” reported KDKA-TV. “But. KDKA discovered those of us in Western Pennsylvania may be somewhat isolated from the problem.”

“I don’t think you really have to worry about it here if you’re buying Pennsylvania trees. I think Pennsylvania has a good crop,” Randy Soergel, from Soergel Orchards in Wexford told KDKA.

Soergel, as well as the three other tree sellers, have noticed a trend of people coming earlier and earlier, and some sellers are starting the day after Thanksgiving.

Keeping it local in Rimersburg


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Selling Christmas trees is a sideline for Myers Tire & Service Center in Rimersburg, but Jeff Myers said he got into the business about 10 years ago in order to keep it local.

“A guy at the other end of town, Rich Horner, sold trees he grew from his own patch,” explained Myers. “It pretty much fizzled out, and he used all of the trees he had, and there were some health issues.  We just wanted to keep it local, and instead of people running up to Clarion and wherever, they would stay here. We’ve done it every year since.”

It’s a family operation for both the tire service and for the Christmas trees, with Jeff’s wife Michelle, daughter Katie, and son Dylan (all pictured above) working at the Main Street store in Rimersburg.

The Myers family started with Douglas fir, but now they have Blue Spruce and Frazier fir, and Korean fir, a sturdy, citrus smelling tree.

Sales have rebounded in recent years after dropping. Myers pointed to possible reasons, such as people have left the area and moved, along with the price of trees.

“Our highest year was probably close to 130, but the last couple of years the average has probably been between 60 and 80.”

C&A selling Christmas trees for 27 years


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C&A Trees in Clarion along Route 68 was the largest of the four tree merchants we talked with. The business sells about 700 Christmas trees each year, and they have been in the business for 27 years.

Like the other businesses, they have seen changes in the business.

When they first started, customers could cut their own trees on C&A property, but as business expanded, they decided to also get their trees from North Carolina about 12 to 13 years ago.

Business seems good this year, according to owners Theresa and Mike Lapinto (pictured), and they start selling Christmas trees the week of Thanksgiving.

“Many people decide to buy their trees here while they are home visiting in the Clarion area and then taking them back with them to set up at home,” said Theresa.  “We have lots of families who return here year after year and even throughout the year.  I’m seeing some of the kids of the parents coming in and buying Christmas trees for their own home. It’s a family tradition.”

While C&A does a booming Christmas tree and wreath business, the season is not a major part of the year, for sales at the extensive greenhouse also features an impressive display of Poinsettias during the Christmas season.

“The fourth quarter is not our strongest quarter in terms of sales, and the family connection that spikes tree sale stretches throughout all four seasons,” said Mike.

Brady’s Bend offers Christmas trees “and More”


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People have the option of stopping at Steiner’s Outdoors & More on Route 68 in Brady’s Bend for Christmas trees, or they can also look for other season crafts, drink some coffee, or share some opinion and stories with owner Denny Steiner.

“Christmas tree sales this year are going well,” said Steiner.  “On the first load, I brought in 85 trees.  We hope to sell most of them this weekend before Christmas.”

Myers has Douglas fir, Frazier fir, Blue Spruce, and has a new variety this year—Canaan fir, similar to the Douglas fir.

“I’ve been doing this 21 years.  When we started, we did well with trees, and then there were requests for artificial trees, and we could see a trend going that way. I’ve noticed the last few years a small increase in fresh cut trees. I think people are reverting back to the old traditional Christmas. We don’t get requests for artificial trees like we used to, but we never did handle artificial trees. Now, it looks like we’re going the other way. At least, that’s what we hope.”

The outdoor store is in business all year and adjusts its stock according to the season.

“We make the switch over to Christmas sometime in late October or early November. We switch from the fall decorations to the Christmas season to get prepared for when people are ready for Christmas. After the Christmas season for approximately the next month, we will do our inventory, and we will go to shows where we purchase our merchandise for spring.”

Christmas tree vs. holiday tree


Steiner enjoys the Christmas season and tells a story about when someone requested a holiday tree.

“When I was back at our store many years ago at the East Brady Community Center before we moved to Brady’s Bend, I got a call from somebody who wanted a holiday tree for Christmas.  I told him I didn’t have any holiday trees, but I did have plenty of fresh cut trees. He was set on a fresh cut holiday tree and wanted to know prices.  I told him I had a Douglas fir for $100.00, a Frazier fir for $80.00, and a blue spruce for $60.00.”

“He said that sounds kind of high for holiday trees how much are the Christmas trees? I told him I had a Douglas fir for $70.00, a Frazier fir for $50.00, and a Blue Spruce for $30.00. He asked what the difference was between a holiday tree and a Christmas tree, and I told him there was no difference. Being politically correct was more expensive.”

He bought the Christmas tree.

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