Page 8 December 11, 2014 TORRANCE TRIBUNE Torrance YMCA Christmas Trees – A Tradition By TerriAnn Ferren Photos by TerriAnn Ferren On the southeast corner of Madrona Avenue and Del Amo Boulevard sits the YMCA Christmas tree lot. After parking in the lot, I met with YMCA volunteer, Gene Koester, who toured me around the spacious 100 percent, all-volunteer lot. As we headed toward the large red and white striped tent, the scent of pine was strong and memories of hunting for Christmas trees flooded my mind. The lot had opened just five minutes prior and already people were walking the rows searching for that perfect tree. West of the tent, hundreds of trees were resting, piled up according to height. A load of 750 trees had been delivered days earlier and unloaded by 70 – 80 YMCA volunteers, which included the West High School Soccer team and the Youth in Government participants. As the trees were unloaded from the truck, they were measured, taken to one of 3 drill stations, where a hole was drilled in the bottom of the trunk for the tree stand, then carefully stacked in piles by height. By storing the trees on the ground, they have less chance of drying out. “You go down to Home Depot and they are standing on asphalt and they dry out fast that way, but once we stand them up for display, they are in the tent,” shared Gene. The YMCA has been selling Christmas trees in Torrance for about 60 years. “I’ve been involved probably going on 35 years. The Y’s Retired Torrance Police Officer Mark Sims and Karl Walther, both Y’s Men volunteering at the lot. Traveling Tree From Oregon with provenance. Men have been selling Christmas trees since 1938. They started selling Christmas trees in Minneapolis, Minnesota and it became a tradition and the Y’s Men here in Torrance are keeping that tradition,” said Gene. They have never missed a year. Gene shared with me that the YMCA lot has been open for business on this site for 23 years. Exxon Mobil allows the YMCA to ‘rent’ the lot for $1 a year. “Being here 23 years, we have a lot of water and power underground, so it is very fast setting up,” shared Gene. “The Y’s Men’s Club is affiliated with the International Association of Y’s Men’s Clubs. We are in 72 countries, probably 73,000 members around the world - founded here in the United States 92 years ago by a man in Toledo, Ohio who decided there should be an organization supporting the YMCA and so he founded the Y’s Men Club, moved into Canada, and then just blossomed around the world. We are fastest growing in Korea and India today,” said Gene. The club is co-ed in spite of the name and they welcome men, women, and youth into their membership. Tree Lot Manager Dave Coggin. Want to be part of the Torrance Y’s Men? Contact club President Dave Ouwerkerk at daveouwerkerk@aol.com. Every year, YMCA trees are purchased from a tree farm in Aumsville, Oregon, southeast of Salem near Silver Falls State Park. As we entered the big tent, Gene pointed to a tiny tree near the entrance and said, “The smallest one is called a ‘table top’ and we put a little red bow and a wooden stand on it for our customers.” The largest trees this year are 8-9 feet. I learned that any tree placed in a public place must have flame retardant applied, and the Y’s Men are qualified, trained, and licensed by the state Fire Marshal to do the job. The Y’s Men also do tree flocking for any customer who would like it applied to their tree. As Gene proudly told me, “We’re pros!” I asked Gene if they water the trees and he told me that on strong ‘Santa Ana’ days they sprinkle them a little bit to keep the humidity up, but they don’t water them. As I looked at the fragrant, stacked trees, Gene pointed to a note by a kindergarten class stapled to one tree. The note said that the tree was from Aumsville, Oregon and the kindergartners would like to hear where this tree’s journey ended. The note contained an address so the buyers of the tree could share where the tree ended its travels. The youngsters asked for a short note or even a photograph of the tree. Can you imagine what fun it would be for children to receive a note or photograph from the buyers of the tree? The tree lot manager for the day was Dave Coggin. Dave told me he has been helping with the tree lot for three years. I asked Dave how he became involved with the Y’s Men and he told me, “We came to buy a tree and Henry and I started talking and I was curious who did this – and how and why and all that kind of thing, and the rest, as they say is history. He invited me to attend a Y’s Men Wednesday night meeting and here I am. I love working here.” Also volunteering in the pine scented tent were two young women from the Youth in Government program: Sindy Lim, age 17, who attends South High School, and Gloria Kim, age 16, who also attends South High. These energetic young women donate their time and exuberance to the YMCA lot. “I especially like the smell,” said Gloria. Yoshi and Ikuko Kawano and their two sons Christian, age 6, and Luke, age 8, had just picked out their Christmas tree from the lot. First, John Frank, who has worked on the lot 18 years, made a ‘fresh cut’ from the trunk to allow the tree to absorb water easier. The next step was a trip to the ‘netter’ where the tree was wrapped in a candy cane colored netting to hold it together, and then volunteers Nathan and Paul Kim, both 16 years old, carried the tree and then secured it in the Kawanos’ car. The Kawanos told me they intend to decorate their tree later that night. How exciting! Sometimes, patrons give tips to the young volunteers who help carry and secure the trees to the cars. If that occurs, the Y has a plan. This particular year, all donations will be given to Save the Children Fund to fight ebola. Where does all the money collected from the trees go? All of the money is donated. Proudly attached to one side of the trailer at the lot, is a long list of organizations who receive the money collected. Karl Walther has been involved in the lot since 1969 and a member of the Y’s Men since 1972. “It makes it smell like Christmas in California with the trees. I just like the feeling I get dealing with the people that come. We see a lot of them year after year. I also like seeing the young kids running through the Christmas trees. It gets you in the mood. The other aspect is doing something for the community. We also treat it as an event – there is more to it than that. We get young volunteers to help out. It is more than selling Christmas trees,” said Karl. Later Karl told me, “We work at keeping the trees fresh.” After serving 30 years with the Torrance Police Department, retired Mark Sims volunteers and is the Tree Lot Chairman 2014. He has been with the Y’s Men 11 years and said, “I started at 8 years old as a kid. It is a wonderful organization and I believe deeply what the Y does. My position as chairman is to put things together. We are all volunteers. I did YMCA with both my sons - back then they called it Indian Guides and then Trail Blazers. One of the guys when I joined this club was my YMCA leader when I was a kid. He has since passed away but we got to work together as Y’s Men as well. His name was Ralph Marzullo and his son, Andrew and I were both in the club together and as Y’s men, we worked together at the lot - lot of wonderful memories as a kid, and as an adult.” Las Hermanas, the Y’s women’s club, work the Christmas tree lot cashier station. “We can have a tree leaving this lot every 2 to 3 minutes on a busy day. It gets hectic around here,” said Gene. Leanna Fox has been working the tree lot since 1976 and is currently President of the Women’s Club. “The women’s club is in charge of the cashiers,” said Leanna. Carol Smith was working along with Leanna. “I have been working three years and I love the customers. That is the best part, they keep returning every year. They are very loyal and they bring their children. It is very heartwarming. I love the people,” added Carol. Gene Koester told me, “Our supplier, Bill Brawley from Aumsville, Oregon, will come down here after he’s through shipping all his trees – usually around the 20th and he takes pride in seeing his trees on our lot. And we are just a small portion of his operation. He sells 400,000 trees each year. We buy 1450 trees from him. We’ll have one more truckload coming in next Thursday. We hope to sell out – 1, 456 trees this year.” Most of the repeat customers have been frequenting the same lot for many years. The YMCA sells their Noble Fir and Cultured Douglas Fir (CDF) trees Monday through Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. Leaving the lot, I was inspired to begin decorating my house for Christmas. Although I haven’t selected a tree as yet I have a renewed appreciation for all the work involved getting the fragrant trees to Southern California. Happy tree hunting! • TerriAnn in Torrance Yoshi Kawano with his family Christian, age 6 , Luke, age 8, and his wife Ikuyo. Las Hermanas volunteers Leanna Fox (Las Hermenanas President) and Carol Smith.
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