PITTSBURG, Kan. (AP) A decades-old Christmas tradition will come to an end this year.
Over the years, many families have visited the Bowens Christmas Tree Farm to pick out the perfect tree.
This December will be bittersweet, the ending of the Bowens 35-year journey selling Christmas trees.
Were going to miss it, Karen Bowen said to The Morning Sun. Its bittersweet and in some respects its been very sad and weve seen a few tears come.
It all began in 1984 when Jim and Karen Bowen planted their first tree.
I talked to a friend of my parents who had a Christmas tree farm in Compton, Kansas, Karen said. As we talked about it over lunch, we came home and started mowing the next day.
Running a Christmas Tree farm wasnt easy. In the beginning they found out a little too late that the trees should be planted in the spring, not the fall.
The following years they had more and more trees thousands more, Scotch, Austrian, White Pines, Fraser, Balsam, Douglas Firs. Some of the trees were pre-cut and brought in from other areas because they thrived better in higher altitudes, Jim said, bringing a little piece of Michigan into families homes.
One time we had 6,000 trees growing, Jim said.
The Fraser Fir was one of the most popular, the couple said.
What people may not know, the Bowens said, is that Christmas trees are crops which need care all year-round. You cant see your mistakes for about seven years, Karen said.
It takes patience and optimism, she said.
Bowens Christmas Tree Farm closes today.
