Previous

Having seen the interest the community had in purchasing cut Christmas trees, the following spring Harry and Paul started planting more Norway spruce and a “new” tree – Scotch pine. This was how it went for the next several years, cutting conservation plantings on the farm (some were purchased from other farmers for 15 cents and sold for 25 cents to 30 cents each) to sell at Christmas and then each spring planting more Norway spruce and Scotch pine on their own farm.

The business started to grow. By 1952, when the first of the ‘new’ plantings were mature to harvest, Paul and Harry were beginning to look for more land to plant. It took several years but in 1957, a 45 acre tract of land in South Manheim Township, known as Summer Hill, was purchased. Immediately they began planting that farm. By this time there was growing interest in other species besides Norway spruce and Scotch pine. Colorado blue spruce and Austrian pine were added to the planting mix.

About this time other people began growing Christmas trees. In an attempt to produce a more compact tree with fewer large openings (holes), several of these new growers started shearing their trees. Seeing the results of shearing and the consumer preference, Paul and Harry also took up the shearing practice. The ‘fuller’, ‘bushier’, Christmas tree emerged.

From approximately 1952 through 1963 Evergreen Acres continued to grow. As the number of trees increased to a point that more were being produced than could be sold locally, Paul and Harry began seeking wholesale markets in the Philadelphia area. Again, sales continued to grow and again sales exceeded production. To meet the increased demand they were buying as many trees locally they could find and going as far as Indiana County, Pennsylvania to purchase their trees.

Next...