Branch manager

Veteran Christmas-tree seller has unique perspective on the holiday season

erald Monk of Columbia Heights knows the ups and downs of selling Christmas trees with more than 20 holiday seasons spent living in Kalispell sales lots.

"Sometimes I enjoy the heck out of it," he said. "But when I get tired of it, I can't go home. I'm here 24 hours a damn day."

From the weekend before Thanksgiving to Dec. 22 or 23, Monk calls a corner of the Staples parking lot home. He lives on site in an ancient but toasty camper with a giant inflated polar bear on top.

On a recent dreary December morning, he sat inside sipping tea from a large root beer mug while waiting for customers.

"It's slow this year," Monk said, taking a drag from a cigarette as he kept an eye on his lot.

He attributed sagging tree sales to a proliferation of lots advertising that profits go to charity. Monk said the public should ask these dealers what percentage actually benefits charity.

On his lot, trees sell from $10 to $45. He said he tries to keep his prices down as people cope with escalating gas and other prices.

"In 20 years, my price on Scotch pine has only gone up $9," he said.

Monk carries wild trees such as balsam and Douglas fir as well as popular tree-farm varieties like Scotch pine. He said he has them cut just before he sets up in November, several weeks earlier than some other lots.

"I tell people they're all local trees," he said.

According to Monk, his farm-raised

trees come from an old friend, Ray Weinberg, a senior citizen who raises Christmas trees on Holt Stage Road.

"He's 73 and he does it all by himself," he said.

Monk appreciates how much time and work that entails.

His education in Christmas trees began in 1986, working on a tree farm owned by the late Bill Fincher and his wife. Their operation included every step of cultivation, starting with harvesting seeds from dried pine cones.

"They're about the size of a grain of sand," Monk recalled.

Next, the seeds went into mounds of dirt covered by sawdust. After two years, the crew pulled up the seedlings, trimmed the roots and transplanted the little trees into a field.

As the trees grew, workers intensely sheared each one annually to cultivate the classic shape.

"Between 7 and 9 years, you can start harvesting them," Monk said.

Another multiple-step process, harvesting began with grading tree quality, cutting, then shaking to rid the tree of dead needles. Monk worked as part of the five-man crew needed to operate the shaker.

Finally, the trees were baled and stacked, then loaded into semi trucks to travel to lots for sale to the public. Fincher operated his own lots in Helena, Butte and Kalispell.

Along with cultivating Christmas trees, Monk learned the ins and outs of lot operation from Fincher.

"He got me started in retail," he said.

Monk noticed some distinct differences from city to city. He recalled that he got the most bad checks on the lots in Helena, which he took as a cautionary tale about the folks spending tax money in the capital.

He has had better luck operating his own lot in the Flathead.

"I've gotten one bad check in 11 years," he said.

Although a few trees get stolen each year, Monk has never been robbed of money. He deposits his cash every day as a precaution.

Over the years, he has relied on his sense of humor to tolerate the vagaries of direct sales to the public.

"You wouldn't believe the crap you have to put up with running a Christmas tree lot," he said with a laugh.

Monk recalled a sweet-looking little old lady who visited his lot. Assuming she had a tough go on a fixed income, he offered her a deep discount down to $5 for a tree.

Instead of gratitude, the lady fired back "You want $5 for that tree - I don't think so!"

He said he had to laugh as he watched her march off to nearby lots, only to return, more contrite, to ask for the $5 discount tree.

In spite of such encounters, Monk has a soft spot for the financially challenged. The tree seller has faced some tough times himself since an auto accident six years ago left him with back injuries, dental damage and memory problems.

Monk, 51, draws on his sense of humor to cope with his disabilities.

He said he suffers from "CRN" or "can't remember nothing." But the condition has a silver lining.

"I can buy my own Christmas presents, hide my own Easter eggs and even throw myself a surprise party," he said with a laugh.

Monk gets help with the physical side of his tree lot from a friend who helps with unloading or loading the largest trees. His most common problem involves loading trees on top of SUVs.

"I'm not vertically challenged," Monk said. "I'm just too damn short."

Due to his back injuries, he said he lost two inches from a height with little to spare. Monk was left not much taller than Santa's elves at 5 feet.

In spite of his disabilities, he keeps busy with other entrepreneurial endeavors in the off-Christmas seasons. In the summer, he picks huckleberries.

"Last year, I operated a cherry stand," he said. "Other times I go to the dumpsters and collect out there."

Along with scrap metal for recycling, he rescues decorations from dumpsters to make his Christmas tree lot more festive. He also retrieves cast-off books to pass the time between customers.

Monk reading preferences span novels to nonfiction.

"I learned a long time ago that you can travel around the world in a book," he said.

Over his more than 20 years selling trees, Monk said he has made a lot of friends. He enjoys handing out candy canes to the children who visit the lot.

As a parent, he learned that the older ones like peppermint while the youngest go for cherry-flavored canes. Many of those youngsters grew into customers.

"I've known some of these people since they were kids 6 and 7 years old," he said.

By the time he unplugs the tree lights, Monk normally sells between 350 to 500 trees. On his last day, usually Dec. 23, he uses sales revenues to purchase food bank sacks to drop off as he begins his own holiday.

His tradition includes some bottled cheer as well as some long, hot soaks.

"I go find a motel for two days with a good bathtub, cable T.V. and plenty of ice," Monk said with a laugh.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.