Here’s what it’s like to own a Christmas tree farm during a pandemic.
Good afternoon.
Tajha Chappellet-Lanier here, thinking about family history and holiday traditions.
Glenn Church, owner of Church Christmas Tree Farms near Elkhorn Slough, has some solid roots in this area—pun intended. It was his father, Warren Church, who first planted Christmas trees on the farm in 1959. A few years later, the elder Church began farming a second piece of property just a quarter of a mile away, one that his grandfather, Clinton King, had purchased in the 1920s. And Warren Church wasn’t just a Christmas tree farmer—he was also a local politician who served on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors from 1965 to 1977.
Glenn grew up working on the farm, selling Christmas trees from the time he was around 5 or 6 years old. And when his dad couldn’t handle the farm anymore, he officially took over. “It’s an interesting business,” Glenn says. “Lots of flexibility, except for the period between November and December.”
This year, however, was different than any Church has experienced. Operating during a pandemic required a few new procedures—mandatory masks and much more disinfecting of the shared tools, for example. But overall, as an outdoor business, “we’re in a really fortunate position,” he says of Covid-19 safety compliance. No, the eye-catching differences this year were in sales. The farm’s good fortune shows up clearly in the sheer number of people who came by to purchase a tree this season. “We were swamped,” Church says. “Our business was double.” He attributes the demand to a kind of shelter-in-place-induced stir-craziness. We all want to get out and do things, and harvesting your own Christmas tree, outside, is a fairly safe option.
But maybe it’s also about tradition, and the importance of finding ways to carry out our traditions when everything feels different. As the global pandemic rages on, challenging and canceling our plans for gathering during the holiday season, people have doubled down on Christmas trees. The holiday symbols brighten up our homes, they smell nice and, if you pick your own at a farm like Church’s, they provide a nifty opportunity for an outing.
After I got off the phone with Church, I found myself returning again and again to a comment he made toward the end of our conversation. “The one really nice thing about Christmas tree selling is that 99 percent of the people who come are really happy, and cheerful and a pleasure to work with,” he told me. What a joy, I thought, to have this be part of your yearly tradition—helping people, each in their own way, to make the season special. Even in a season unlike any other.
-Tajha Chappellet-Lanier, Monterey County NOW editor, tajha@mcweekly.com