IN A PICTURESQUE valley north of Manchester, the husband-and-wife team of Dave and Lisa Showvaker planted a patch of spruce and pine trees 17 years ago.
"He said it would be easy to grow Christmas trees," said Lisa.
Every year since, they have planted again, with eight varieties of spruce, pine and fir. The patch, on Garrett Road, has grown to 30 acres. It is planted with 1,400 to 1,700 carefully trimmed trees an acre, destined for holiday tinsel.
The best season is ahead, when families looking for their holiday trees roam among conifers ranging from 6 feet to 20 feet tall.
Dave is a private drywall contractor and Lisa is a payroll administrator at Snyder's Pretzels in Hanover. They haven't left their full-time jobs.
It takes seven or eight years for a tree to reach the 6- to 8-foot height most people prefer.
They started selling trees eight years ago in a 10-foot shed.
"It's a hobby out of control," Dave Showvaker said.
This winter, they'll have 17 employees helping harvest the trees, serve cocoa, staff the gift shop, and tend the kids play area.
During their open house Saturday and Sunday, they will give away coloring books and poinsettias to the first to arrive. Prizes are hidden with the trees.
Children can climb on a pirate ship or tumble in a tent full of hay in a new play area.
Older children can launch apples with giant slingshots, hitting targets about 100 yards away for prizes.
In a forest of birches, painted wooden snowman cutouts are set up for photographs. A petting zoo includes goats, sheep, horses and donkeys.
Last year, Showvaker's Quality Evergreens decided to offer a scholarship to a college-bound student from North Carroll High School.
They hope "to encourage a senior to study agriculture in order to develop ways to make the best use of our natural resources," Lisa Showvaker said.
In June, they awarded $500 to Christopher Ranoull, who was accepted at Allegany College of Maryland in Cumberland.
"We have to balance building with agriculture. Chris wanted to major in forestry. He'd worked with a forester and was active in agriculture and forestry projects. He was genuinely interested in ag and he showed a marked interest in the forestry business," she said.
Lisa's idea of the perfect tree is one set up without mess in the house, so the Showvakers invested in innovative machines.
One shakes out loose needles from the branches.
Another trusses the tree into a car-sized bundle easy to carry through a door.
A third machine bores a shaft through the trunk. A tree stand contains a rod to fit in the trunk to keep the tree upright.
"The tree will never fall," said Brett Graf, who had selected a Douglas fir. It was the fifth year he and his father, Wilson Graf, both of Hanover, Pa., went to the farm.
"Our customers come back each year. Some wear Santa hats. Some take family photos near the big trees," Lisa said. "We prepare for Christmas for 11 months, but it doesn't seem like work."
A circus tent houses about 150 cut trees, each on pin stands, staying fresh in basins of water.
"It will look like a little forest in here," Lisa said. "The tent will keep the wind and sunshine off the trees."
If it stays sunny, most trees will be chosen in about four days.
But the Showvakers hope for snow to dust the trees before the weekend.
Information: www.qualityever greens.com or 410-374-1499.
Comforting blankets
The Carroll chapter of Project Linus recently delivered 180 blankets to Johns Hopkins Hospital.
One parent, whose 4-year-old daughter with leukemia had been admitted to the emergency room, wrote that she saw "how happy a simple quilt can make a sick child" when her daughter was allowed to choose one of the bright blankets.
During Make a Difference Day, held Oct. 26 at North Carroll High School, 426 blankets were completed.
For information on how to donate materials or make blankets for the project, contact Judy Walter, at 410-374-9741.
Cash donations, used to purchase sewing supplies and other items, can be sent to Project Linus, 1803 Harvey Yingling Road, Manchester 21102.
Pat Brodowski's North neighborhood column appears each Wednesday in the Carroll County edition of The Sun.