Like Christmas shopping for some, picking out a tree to decorate can be a last-minute affair.
Jan Smith of Burnettsville said final exams the last two weeks prevented her from getting a tree so she’d have a place to put presents for her five grandchildren.
“Friday is coming really quick,” Smith said Saturday afternoon as a salesman from Springcreek Landscaping and Nursery loaded one into the trunk of her car. “I’ve got most of the gifts, but I didn’t have a tree to put them under.”
Smith planned on decorating the tree Saturday night, as did the Ricci family.
With six days to spare, Mark, Amy and Samantha Ricci of Logansport found themselves at the same tree lot. Daughter Samantha got the honor of picking the family’s first live tree since before she was born.
When Samantha spotted a tall Fraser fir that she wanted, she expressed concern about the tree’s height. Her dad assured her the tree would fit, even if he had to use his chainsaw.
“You’re going to cut the top off?” she asked.
Mark explained he would cut from the bottom.
“Oh,” she said, as her family and Christmas tree salesman Bill Sonafrank shared a laugh.
Sonafrank’s seasonal job at Springcreek Landscaping and Nursery’s Christmas tree lot is nearing its conclusion for the year. A “close out” sign indicated the lot would soon be out of trees and wreaths.
Not everyone waits until less than week remains before Christmas, Sonafrank said. Trees get delivered at Thanksgiving and the “early birds” begin calling two weeks before the November holiday.
“When the lot opens, they’re already lined up to get them right off the truck,” he said.
Some families combine Thanksgiving and Christmas so they can share the holidays with grandparents heading for warmer weather. Those families need trees as soon as possible, Sonafrank said.
For other people, the holiday spirit stirs them into setting the atmosphere early. The two weekends after Thanksgiving are the busiest, Sonafrank said.
As Smith and the Ricci family demonstrated, some wait until closer to Christmas. On Monday, Springcreek started with about 80 trees. By Saturday, nearly all had been sold.
This year has been typical in terms of sales, Sonafrank said. They normally sell out the week leading up to Christmas.
The tough economy did not seem to factor into whether people bought a Christmas tree. Sonafrank reasoned that spending time with family remained a top priority.
With so many choosing live trees, safety is something that should be considered, Sonafrank said.
According to the U.S. Fire Administration, natural trees adorn the inside of more than 33 million American homes and account for 200 fires annually, resulting in six deaths, 25 injuries and more than $6 million in property damage.
“Typically shorts in electrical lights or open flames from candles, lighters or matches start tree fires,” stated a U.S. Fire Administration report. “Well-watered trees are not a problem. Dry and neglected trees can be.”
A video on the U.S. Fire Administration Web site demonstrates how quickly a dry tree can become engulfed in flames. Within three seconds of ignition, the tree is completely ablaze. The fire spreads throughout the room in 40 seconds.
Sonafrank and the fire safety agency recommend watering live Christmas trees on a regular basis to prevent them from catching fire.
• Kevin Lilly is news editor of the Pharos-Tribune. He can be reached at 574-732-5117 or kevin.lilly@pharostribune.com.
Local News
Related Photos
-
HER FIRST TREE: Samantha Ricci of Logansport had the honor of picking her first live Christmas tree on Saturday from Springcreek Landscaping and Nursery. Her parents, Amy and Mark Ricci, assured Samantha that the tall Fraser fir would fit indoors. P-T photo | Kevin Lilly
-
LOADING IT UP: Christmas tree salesman Bill Sonafrank loads a tree into the trunk of a car as snow falls Saturday. Most of the Christmas trees provided by Springcreek Landscaping and Nursery have been sold from the lot at 24th and Market streets. P-T photo | Kevin Lilly
Discussion
Nearly sold out
As Christmas gets closer, local lot runs short of trees
- Local News
-
-
Galveston students honored for gun decision
On the afternoon of April 24, two Galveston fifth-graders riding their bikes down Washington Street saw a handgun half-hidden among a pile of dead grass on the side of the road.
-
Honoring the fallen: Area Memorial Day ceremonies echo our freedoms
It was a beautiful 75-degree morning as young and old lined East Broadway in Logansport in front of the City Building, with just enough wind to prompt Old Glory to dance during Monday’s Memorial Day parade.
-
Police battle fuel prices
Cass County Sheriff Randy Pryor gets briefed on a lot of things daily, including crime on the streets and activity in the jail. But there’s one email the first-term sheriff watches closely that most law enforcement officials don’t get any training on.
-
State pushes convenience stores to up safety practices
In 2002, after New Mexico forced convenience store owners to put sweeping security measures into place for clerks working late-night hours, the number of robberies dropped by 92 percent, and assaults, murders, and other crimes at convenience stores dropped dramatically.
-
Not forgotten
A plaque in Mount Hope Cemetery near a flagpole dedicated to those from Logansport and Cass County who served in the World War reads: “Let those who come after see that these men shall not be forgotten.”
-
LHS freshmen ace algebra ECA
Logansport High School administrators were “ecstatic” last week over results from the statewide algebra I end-of-course assessment that showed passing marks for all the freshmen who took the exam.
-
Logan man hands Indy 500 winner milk
Logansport resident Dave Forgey remembers listening to the Indianapolis 500 on the radio as a kid while his cousins and siblings would gather for a picnic.
- 2012 Lewis Cass graduation
-
Former LPD officer Leal turns himself in
Former Logansport police officer Carlos Paul Leal was arrested Friday afternoon on charges of theft, and officials Saturday said the counts stem from two separate investigations.
-
9-1-1 dispatchers will soon be able to text
Cass County dispatchers will be able to text callers starting this summer — a move that is reflective of where emergency communication services are heading nationwide.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
