ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – In its final week of the holiday sales season, an Upper Peninsula tree business says it has noticed a change in patrons since last year.
Escanaba knows it’s Christmas when Sargent’s Evergreen opens for business in the parking lot of Elmer’s County Market.
“It’s been a three-generation family business for the Sargents,” said salesman Steve Sturdy. “They used to be across the street over by the old Shakey’s, if people remember that. We’ve been here for probably ten years now.”
Sturdy says they offer just about every type of Christmas tree.
“We have balsam, white spruce, blue spruce, Canaan fir, Frasier fir, Scotch pine, white pine,” he said. “The Frasier firs and the Canaans, we have to get from an outside source, but all the other trees are grown in Delta County or Menominee County.”
According to Sturdy, it has been a good season for sales.
“I think this year’s a little bit better than last year,” he said. “It always could be better. We always like to try to sell out of all the trees we cut.”
Any trees that don’t sell by the end of the season won’t go to waste.
“We give them to the DNR to make fish cribs for the inland lakes and stuff,” Sturdy explained.
He attributes this year’s boost in business to something else that has grown—Christmas spirit.
“Compared to last year, it’s like night and day,” said Sturdy. “I mean, people are smiling and they’re saying, ‘Merry Christmas!’ I see the difference. It’s been hard on people, but it seems like people are a little more optimistic. They seem to be a little more cheerful.”
Sturdy says that holiday cheer spreads well beyond the tree lot.
“The credit union over there, they bought a tree for a guy and he said, ‘Oh no, give it to somebody that really needs it,'” he said. “They insisted, so I said, ‘Pay it forward. Go put the money over in the Salvation Army kettle,’ and that’s what he did. That’s what Christmas is about. It’s not about getting; it’s about giving.”Sargent’s
Evergreen will be open for its last day of the season on Saturday, December 21. Until then, the tree lot is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Those looking for a tree after December 21 can visit North Bluff Grocery at 6287 M-35 in Gladstone.
