Name: 'Act like you're cutting it down and smile': A trip to a Manvel Christmas tree farm
Brand: houstonchronicle.com
SKU: houstonchronicle-com-474
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

'Act like you're cutting it down and smile': A trip to a Manvel Christmas tree farm

preview

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateMANVEL — Lost among the rows of scruffy pines, Patsy Hawa began to lose hope that she would find what she was looking for.It had to be between six and seven feet tall, bushy but not too thick, and sturdy enough to hold years of holiday memories. About a dozen families wandered nearby at Holiday Acres’ plot of Virginia pines, searching for a tree they had seen in their dreams, one that would fit perfectly in their living rooms, one so beautiful that company would ask, “Where did you find that?”It may be hard to believe that Hawa and the others could find their perfect Christmas tree growing near Houston, where even a dusting of snow happens about as often as a Texans’ playoff win.For about 50 years now, farmers from East Texas to San Angelo have been trying to grow just that. They are not the spruces and firs most associate with Christmas, the closest of which can only take root hundreds of miles away, but clever trimming and hard work can create a convincing lookalike.“We only knew about this because Paislee came here on a field trip in kindergarten,” Hawa said, gesturing to her now 8-year-old daughter. “It’s something different, it makes me feel like it’s our tree.”Folks started growing the wintry woods in the mid-1970s around Crockett, said Lanny Dreesen, a former Texas A&amp;M forestry specialist who worked at an extension office at the time. A few farmers already were toying with the idea, so Dreesen and his team planted a demonstration plot. Virginia pine, a “pioneer” species known for being able to survive in new environments, and native Eastern red cedar were obvious first choices for Dreesen.While it seemed like a bizarre idea at the time, so many people became interested that Dreesen and others started the Texas Christmas Tree Growers Association within a few years and soon had more than 500 member farms in their ranks.Those in East Texas, with sandy and more acidic soil, began planting Leyland cypress that have more of that classic Christmas tree shape. Central and West Texas farmers started favoring the Afghan pine, which grows well in their basic clay soils.Dreesen himself started a couple farms and sold trees for 23 years, before closing down the last near Waller about 20 years ago. Down in Manvel, Rocky and Leigh Ann Smith started planting saplings of Virginia pine in 1999.The Smiths wanted to show their then-teenagers how to grow a business, literally, from the ground up. Rocky figured it would be a fun weekend project as his career as an aircraft operations engineer at NASA began to wind down. And after the family cut down trees years prior, Leigh Ann figured it would be easy.“It looked like no work, that all you would do is just stick the saplings in the ground,” she said. “Turns out, that’s not true.”Weeds can wrap their way up the pine trunks like vines. The roots can grow in the wrong direction, causing saplings to die off in their second year. Every tree needs to be trimmed at least twice a year so they look more like what Santa Claus sets presents underneath and less like a scraggly bush. It takes at least four years after planting before farmers can sell the trees.The effort it takes may be why the number of Christmas tree farms in Texas has dwindled from 500 at its high point to about 80 now, said Rocky Smith, who is the current president of the Christmas tree growers association. Dreesen chalks it up to a generational chasm that has grown across all types of farming, where younger folks are more eager to move to cities and work in less physically demanding jobs.Even cutting down the Christmas trees is labor intensive.At Holiday Acres, customers are handed a bow saw, a tag and a 10-foot-tall PVC pole marked by the foot to help with measuring. Then they are turned loose on the grounds.Hawa, her four kids and husband Eric Maurer were walking near the back of the property when Hawa took off running. She had found it.It measured 10 feet, quite a bit taller than the family had planned. That did not stop Maurer from handing the saw to 10-year-old Paxton and 13-year-old Pyrson.The two boys sat on the ground, struggling to find the rhythm of pushing and pulling to fell the tree.“Go back and forth. Now act like you’re cutting it down and smile,” Hawa yelled.“We’re trying to,” Pyrson said as he and Paxton grimaced and muscled the saw through part of the trunk.Paislee and 6-year-old Reed gave it a try before Maurer jumped in. He pushed the tree away with one hand and drove the saw through the trunk with the other. After about 10 minutes of the whole family attempting to cut down the tree, it finally snapped free.“We wanted to make memories,” Hawa said, laughing. “Well we’ll definitely remember this.”shelby.webb@chron.com

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateMANVEL — Lost among the rows of scruffy pines, Patsy Hawa began to lose hope that she would find what she was looking for.It had to be between six and seven feet tall, bushy but not too thick, and sturdy enough to hold years of holiday memories. About a dozen families wandered nearby at Holiday Acres’ plot of Virginia pines, searching for a tree they had seen in their dreams, one that would fit perfectly in their living rooms, one so beautiful that company would ask, “Where did you find that?”It may be hard to believe that Hawa...

'Act like you're cutting it down and smile': A trip to a Manvel Christmas tree farm

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS