Welcome to Pinelake Christmas Tree Farm

From KSN News (November 20, 2009):
DERBY, Kansas - It’s not even Thanksgiving yet, but Friday Governor Mark Parkinson dedicated the Christmas tree for the Kansas Governor’s Mansion. The tree came from a farm in Derby at one of the dwindling number of Christmas tree farms in the state. Of the 7,500 trees at Pine Lake Christmas Tree Farm in Derby, one stands out. The Scotch pine that took more than a decade to grow was chopped down in seconds.

"A nine-foot tree we're saying, might have taken 11, even 12 years to grow,” said Celia Goering, owner of Pine Lake Christmas Tree Farm. But it’s been worth it, because the tree is destined for the Governor’s Mansion.

Celia and Glen Goering have been selling Christmas trees since the 1980’s, but it’s the first one headed to Cedar Crest delivered from their farm to a carriage in Topeka and received by Mark and Stacy Parkinson in person. It’s a special honor, but then just being in the Christmas tree business sets them apart. Pine Lake is one of only 50 tree farms left in the state.

"We think numbers are dwindling because of urban sprawl,” said Celia. “As cities grow outward, this eats up the little acreages that were fairly close to town." Not to mention the high price of land and the time required to raise thousands of seedlings.

"And they grow at a slow rate, particularly at first -- so the first seven years, you can count on no sales pretty much,” Celia said.

But despite the down economy, Goering says Christmas tree growers across the state had good sales last year and hope for the same this year.

"The thing that we've learned is during tough times, during a recession, people say they may cut back somewhere, but they're still going to have a Christmas tree,” Celia said. “That's the value of tradition in our lives, I think.”

Tree sales at Pine Lake begin the day after Thanksgiving.