Beginning a new family tree
By DIANE GASPER-O'BRIEN
Lynn and Karla Davignon have encountered a lot of "firsts" since buying a Christmas tree farm seven years ago, and they would like to start another -- school tours.
The Davignons got their taste of what such a venture would be like earlier this month when second-graders from Washington Elementary School in Hays visited Prairie Dell Pines, about 11 miles southwest of Ellis.
And what better time to get their latest project under way than when they open their new tree lot in 2009.
They're already planning for next Christmas?
That's what people in the Christmas tree business do, said Lynn Davignon, who will have even more time to tend to the farm next year.
He retired Dec. 12 after 32 years as a fisheries biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks at Pratt and Cedar Bluff Reservoir.
After taking some time off to hunt -- he's an avid outdoorsman -- Davignon will begin checking trees for insect infestations about mid-April, officially beginning the schedule for the 2009 harvest.
He and his wife will begin monitoring the lot as summer approaches to make sure the trees have enough moisture, then begin the annual shaping and shearing of the trees about mid-June.
The rest of the summer will spent mowing and, if necessary, irrigating the trees.
The Christmas season begins in early November, when signs go up and the barn is decorated.
It's a perfect time for tours, Davignon said, but "I wouldn't mind promoting (tours) when the trees are candling out and the weather is nice, too," he added.
Sherry Chaffin came up with the idea about visiting a tree farm for a field trip.
"I remember we used to take our kids out there when they were growing up," said Chaffin, a long-time teacher at Washington who has four grown children. "There were so many good memories associated with getting our tree (at the tree farm), and we wanted our kids to experience that, too."
The Chaffin children's memories were of Carl Pinney, the farm's former owner who greeted each prospective buyer.
And the Davignons are hoping to help make those type of memories for others.
For example, when they realized several years ago some people were leaving the farm without a tree because they couldn't find one the shape or size they wanted, it prompted Prairie Dell Pines to bring in some precut trees from the Delp Tree Farm in St. John.
"Our goal is to have everyone leave with either a tree or some greenery," Davignon said.
Karla Davignon, who spends most of her time running her own long-arm machine quilting business, still helps with the tree farm, too.
Not surprisingly, their busiest time of the year is November and December.
Besides running the tree shop, Karla also makes wreaths and garland for sale and helps her husband with the "shake-and-bale" process when he needs it.
Before sending a tree home with a customer, the Davignons place it on a vibrating mechanism that shakes out loose needles and dead material from the tree. They then place it into a machine that wraps a light wire mesh around the tree for travel.
During the school tour, the children listened attentively as Davignon explained in his outdoor classroom the entire process of growing a Christmas tree, from the time it is planted to the cutting and sale of the tree.
Karla Davignon showed the students how she makes the wreaths, then gave them one for their classroom.
After all, the farm's slogan is "Continue the Tradition."
The Davignons hope to do more of that this year while maybe starting a new tradition along the way.
Lynn and Karla Davignon both said they were pleased with how smoothly the school tour ran, and last week they received a whole packet of thank-you notes from the children.
"I dealt with a lot of youngsters in my career in wildlife and parks," Davignon said. "So I'm used to that. The kids are so eager to learn something new. This whole experience was fantastic."