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Christmas Tree Farmers Work Throughout the Year to Make December Green

Newly planted seedlings grow near fully grown trees of various sizes at Mike McCartha's Christmas tree farm in Gilbert, S. C'
Tut Underwood/SC Public Radio
Newly planted seedlings grow near fully grown trees of various sizes at Mike McCartha's Christmas tree farm in Gilbert, S. C.
Christmas tree farmer Mike McCartha  shakes the debris from a tree before wrapping it up for the trip to his customer's home.
Credit Tut Underwood/SC Public Radio
Christmas tree farmer Mike McCartha shakes the debris from a tree before wrapping it up for the trip to his customer's home.

Mike McCartha and Bryan Price are tow two men who essentially make their entire year's livings in one month.  They're Christmas tree farmers.  It takes year-round to grow Christmas trees and successfully market them. Growers like McCartha and Price say they like seeing smiling faces returning year after year. 

McCartha says he enjoys being outdoors in nature all year, but adds that he loves his job because "it's one of the few businesses where all your customers are in a good mood."   Growing Christmas trees started out as a hobby for Price.  That was more than 30 years ago.    Though it’s a lot of work,  he enjoys seeing customers who have bought trees from him since they were dating, and now their children have grown up and are coming to him for their own trees. 

Tut Underwood is producer of South Carolina Focus, a weekly news feature. A native of Alabama, Tut graduated from Auburn University with a BA in Speech Communication. He worked in radio in his hometown before moving to Columbia where he received a Master of Mass Communications degree from the University of South Carolina, and worked for local radio while pursuing his degree. He also worked in television. He was employed as a public information specialist for USC, and became Director of Public Information and Marketing for the South Carolina State Museum. His hobbies include reading, listening to music in a variety of styles and collecting movies and old time radio programs.