Larry Kuhns, with cheeks and nose made red by the frosty wind, lifts a fir tree into the air and guides it with expert precision into a machine.
With a simple gesture it roars to life, shaking a carpet of green needles onto the ground, still white and icy from an early dusting of snow.
Reedsville resident Matt Kenepp and his stepdaughter Kali Shawver watch the rocking fir tree with amused smiles, having just cut the tree down themselves at Kuhn’s Tree Farm on Route 322 just outside State College.
“We’ve been coming here for many years. It’s a tradition at this point,” Kenepp says. “We always prepare for the cold and bundle up, come out and pick out a tree. It’s a fun time for us.”
Having been in business selling Christmas trees for 27 years, Kuhn says he sees many repeat customers that have made a yearly tradition of coming out to his farm. Those customers, along with some new ones, will make this weekend very busy for Kuhns and other tree farms in the area.
“We have customers that are the grandchildren of the original people that came and got their trees here,” says John Tait of Tait Farm, which has sold Christmas trees since 1957. “Frankly, that’s part of what keeps me going. I get great satisfaction from seeing people come out and having fun here.”
Tait says his farm, found just down the road from the Kuhns farm, can sell upwards of 500 Christmas trees on a busy weekend. With Thanksgiving coming so late in November this year – and Christmas a few short weeks away – he anticipates both this and next weekend to be particularly crazed.
He says the Christmas tree market really starts on Black Friday, and gets into full swing in the second and third weeks of December. By next weekend, Tait expects to have done three-fourths of his yearly Christmas tree business.
Chris Harner of Harner Farms, on West College Avenue, recalls that he once sold a Christmas tree on July Fourth weekend to someone for “a half-Christmas celebration” – but that’s uncommon at best. He also says that the next two weekends are going to be the busiest time in the Christmas tree season.
In addition to Harner, Tait and Kuhns Farms, the tree stand at Myer’s Dairy is another popular spot in State College that’s been around for many years. Large chains like Lowes and Home Depot both also carry live Christmas trees.
Tait says what makes a good Christmas tree is a matter of taste that varies widely from person to person.
Different kinds of trees – including Douglas firs, Canaan firs, Fraser firs, Concolor firs, white pines and blue spruces – each have slightly different appearances and fragrances. The Dougalas fir may have a traditional scent; the Concolors have a citrus smell; while the Canaans have a natural scent of balsam. For those with large or heavy Christmas ornaments, Tait says that the Fraser fir or the blue spruce is the way to go because of their thicker branches.
Harner adds that some things stay the same no matter what you’re looking for in a tree: it should full and robust and the needles should be able to bend without breaking in your fingers. All trees should also be kept in water to help them last longer inside your house.
“Buying a tree grown in this area supports farming,” Tait says. “If we can keep supporting our farms and the agriculture industry, we can keep on farming and save more open spaces.”
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