COVERSTORY 8 | December 2005, <strong>Carolina</strong> <strong>Farm</strong> <strong>Credit</strong>
Congr<strong>at</strong>ul<strong>at</strong>ions are in order for Smokey Holler Tree <strong>Farm</strong> of Sparta, North <strong>Carolina</strong>, as <strong>the</strong>y won <strong>the</strong> honor of supplying <strong>the</strong> Christmas tree to <strong>the</strong> White House for 2005. The owners and <strong>Carolina</strong> <strong>Farm</strong> <strong>Credit</strong> members, Earl and Betsy Deal and <strong>the</strong>ir children Meg and Buddy, earned this right by winning <strong>the</strong> Christmas tree contest <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> biennial N<strong>at</strong>ional Christmas Tree Associ<strong>at</strong>ion Convention. Their near perfect entry earned 198 of a possible 200 points in <strong>the</strong> prestigious contest. Of course, <strong>the</strong> tree th<strong>at</strong> wins <strong>the</strong> competition is not <strong>the</strong> actual tree th<strong>at</strong> goes into <strong>the</strong> White House. The White House’s Chief Usher, Gary Walters, travels to <strong>the</strong> winning farm to personally make <strong>the</strong> 18’ 6” selection; and it has to be just right. “Pretty nice, Mike,” Walters said, speaking to Mike Lawn, <strong>the</strong> White House’s head gardener as <strong>the</strong>y surveyed some of <strong>the</strong> large Deal trees. “How’s it look <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> bottom?” “No holes, branches to <strong>the</strong> ground, nice height,” Lawn said. “Beautiful,” Walters said. With <strong>the</strong> selection being made, <strong>the</strong> tree will be cut <strong>the</strong> day after Thanksgiving and shipped to <strong>the</strong> White House via a truck from <strong>the</strong> NC Department of Agriculture. With <strong>the</strong> truck and <strong>the</strong> celebr<strong>at</strong>ion th<strong>at</strong> takes place with <strong>the</strong> present<strong>at</strong>ion of <strong>the</strong> tree to Mrs. Bush, it is a gre<strong>at</strong> opportunity to spotlight <strong>the</strong> quality of <strong>the</strong> Fraser Fir. “This is a wonderful opportunity for people to become familiar with <strong>the</strong> North <strong>Carolina</strong> Fraser Fir,” says Linda Gragg, Executive Director of <strong>the</strong> North <strong>Carolina</strong> Christmas Tree Associ<strong>at</strong>ion (NCCTA). The Fraser Fir has long been known for its pleasant fragrance, enduring needle retention, dark green color, and fullness. One of <strong>the</strong> goals of <strong>the</strong> NCCTA is to brand <strong>the</strong> name Fraser Fir so th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong>se quality fe<strong>at</strong>ures become <strong>at</strong>tached to <strong>the</strong> name. The Deals should have a gre<strong>at</strong> weekend <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> White House when <strong>the</strong>y make <strong>the</strong> present<strong>at</strong>ion. Betsy Deal taught school for 28 years and Earl is professor emeritus <strong>at</strong> NC St<strong>at</strong>e University’s College of Forest Resources. So with Mrs. Bush’s acceptance, it will be a present<strong>at</strong>ion from two former teachers to ano<strong>the</strong>r. It will also be Earl and Betsy’s 40th wedding anniversary on <strong>the</strong> weekend <strong>the</strong>y will be in Washington. “Don’t forget th<strong>at</strong>’s our 40th wedding anniversary,” she told her husband. “Maybe you can remember th<strong>at</strong> and won’t forget it this year.” Christmas tree farmers are somewh<strong>at</strong> unique in th<strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir harvest always ends as <strong>the</strong> country celebr<strong>at</strong>es its largest holiday. This time of celebr<strong>at</strong>ion will be multiplied for <strong>the</strong> Deals this year and we applaud <strong>the</strong>ir long marriage, <strong>the</strong>ir quality tree, and <strong>the</strong>ir victory <strong>at</strong> <strong>the</strong> N<strong>at</strong>ional Christmas Tree Contest. The Deals raise 500,000 trees on about 500 acres in Alleghany County, NC. The 18’ 6” tree th<strong>at</strong> will be placed in <strong>the</strong> <strong>white</strong> <strong>house</strong> is approxim<strong>at</strong>ely 20 years old. Smokey Holler sells exclusively to wholesalers, who will probably market <strong>the</strong>ir trees as coming from <strong>the</strong> same farm as <strong>the</strong> White House tree. Inform<strong>at</strong>ion for this article was taken from <strong>the</strong> original article written by Monte Mitchell of The Winston-Salem Journal and re-written by Greg Moore of <strong>Carolina</strong> <strong>Farm</strong> <strong>Credit</strong>. December 2005, <strong>Carolina</strong> <strong>Farm</strong> <strong>Credit</strong> | 9
Change language