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Article: Tree farmers remain hopeful: ; Artificial trees, tight budgets, chain store sales all in competition with locally grown product
- Article from:
- Charleston Daily Mail
- Article date:
- December 8, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2008 Charleston Daily Mail. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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A lot of Grinchly factors lined up against traditional Christmas
tree lots this year.
The availability of artificial trees. Inexpensive trees sold
outside chains like Wal-Mart and Lowe's. And even the possibility
that trees will be the victim of family budgets as people gird
against a stormy economy.
But local Christmas tree sellers are still optimistic.
"You may not get the extra present under the tree, but you need
the tree, at least," said Jackson Clay, who harvests Christmas trees
in Buckhannon to sell at Charleston's Capitol Market.
At the market, tree sellers pitch their trees' freshness. They
say shoppers should be wary of larger retailers - the tree is, after
all, most people's ...