BUSINESS SLOW AT TREE LOTS

Todd Poole stared past a sea of pine trees at William Street, where cars raced past in the drizzle.

Mom, dad and the kids weren't stopping to pick out this year's Christmas tree on the Evening Optimists' lot. Instead of loading pines into waiting vehicles, Poole spent most of Saturday morning warming himself by the kerosene heater in a small trailer.

Friday was a little more cheerful, especially when he sold a tree to a Jackson family, who, like their "Christmas Vacation" movie counterparts, wanted the largest one on the lot -- an 11-foot Nova Scotian pine.

"You meet a lot of people in the Christmas spirit," said Poole, who is spending his first year as a tree salesman. "A few came in and said they come to the Optimist lot every year because the money goes for good causes.

"So, how about this little tree for you? Ten bucks," he said after a pause.

No sale again, but Poole climbed back into the doorway of the trailer and waited for the next customer to pull into the lot.

The story was similar at other tree lots on Saturday. Most set up Friday and had a few customers, but bad weather kept some tree shoppers away.

Marion Tucker, working at the Schwab tree lot on the corner of Broadway and Kingshighway, smoked cigarettes in a small shed to pass the time between customers. He is an eight-year veteran of the Christmas tree business.

Tucker said business is about the same as last year, slow early in the season. Like last year, he expects it to improve later in the season. More customers come late in the day, so he usually works from 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

He will sell about 700 trees from the 70-acre Schwab farm in Jackson before the year is over.

Steve and Beverly Boren take their two daughters to the Schwab tree lot or farm every year to pick out the perfect Christmas tree. Strolling through the lot Saturday morning, Steve Boren said he handles the financial and labor end of Christmas tree installation and his wife handles aesthetics.

Beverly Boren wants the family tree to be about 9 feet tall and round and will search all day if necessary.

"We've got to find that perfect tree," she said. "We love the real ones -- they represent Christmas. But we don't like the mess later."

The Borens said they would erect the tree in their home today and spend the evening decorating it.