Keep it Real: The Christmas Tree Community in Bethel, North Carolina

Diane Cornett Deal has lived in Watauga County her whole life and has worn a number of different hats, including owning and running a Christmas tree farm. She describes the surprising aspects of the business and why Christmas trees are important to grow for sustainability and the joy they bring to her customers.

This documentary was created as part of the Stories: YES program for Bethel School in Bethel, North Carolina, made by Eric Nunez, Bianca Morris, Kyra Turner, Bella Ward. It was made with the support and assistance of Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, Adam Sheffield with Appalachian State University Digitization Services, storyteller Sherry Lovett, and Beth Davison with Appalachian State University Documentary Film Services.

Diane Cornett Deal (00:00): My name is Diane Cornett Deal. I was born here in Watauga County. I have lived in Watauga County my entire life. As a young child, we always had a garden, and me and my siblings helped in the gardening. We always helped with raising tobacco. My grandparents, both sets of grandparents, raised tobacco, and we assisted with that. During the summer, we would work in the fields. Yes.

Diane Cornett Deal (00:37): I wear several different hats. My 8:00 to 5:00 job is I am the Clerk of Court for Watauga County, and I also have a Christmas tree farm, and I have some rental properties. In the clerk's office, I have been there for over 35 years. I have raised Christmas trees since 1986. So, that is about 32 years that I've been in the Christmas tree business. The Christmas tree industry, so we'll talk about that. When I bought a piece of property back in 1986, my father was already raising Christmas trees, and he actually had some extra seedlings that year. These were the trees that we plant out into the field to turn into Christmas trees. And he asked me if I would like to have those trees to start a Christmas tree farm.

Diane Cornett Deal (01:27): I really was not interested in raising Christmas trees, but I did not want to do livestock. I wasn't interested in chasing cattle around the fields, and I needed to do something, because the property that I had purchased was approximately 26 acres. A lot of it was cleared fields and it was a good plan to use that property for something. So I decided that I would plant Christmas trees, and that's how I got into the Christmas tree business. At one point in time, I actually was out there in the field, helping plant the trees, fertilize the trees, and do all that stuff. And then I got rather busy in the clerk's office and just did not have time to do all that extra work in the evenings.

Diane Cornett Deal (02:10): So, he had a crew of people that was doing the work. So he agreed to manage my farm and take care of all of the labor part of that. He hires about two to three people that work for him full-time, just in the Christmas tree industry. And those young people shear the trees. They fertilize the trees in the spring of the year. Actually, this time of the year, they are planting trees in the areas where we cut out the tree trees this past fall. And the typical day, one of the things that I do, one of the real involved parts that I am involved with, is the choose and cut industry. We open up the weekend prior to Thanksgiving, and then we're open just on weekends. My daughter and her children help with that, and we hire about six or seven other people, sometimes more. We are out there from about nine o'clock in the morning to about five o'clock in the afternoon helping people cut a tree fresh from the farm.

Diane Cornett Deal (03:20): Those of us that actually are out there putting out the chemicals or putting out fertilizer, we have to know what is needed. We have to recognize certain bugs. We do soil sampling on the property so that we know what fertilizers we need to add to the soil. We send those off to the state and have the soil analyzed so they can send us back a recommendation depending on the crop that we're planning. And in my case, it would be the Fraser Fir Christmas trees.

Diane Cornett Deal (03:52): Most outsiders that are not familiar with the Christmas tree industry do not understand that there is work to be done in those trees throughout the year. A lot of people think we just plant that tree in the ground and it grows up to be that beautiful Christmas tree. But every season, there's something that has to be done. For example, this time of year, we are getting ready to put out the fertilizers so that the trees will grow properly in the season. And then about the end of June, 1st of July, we'll start the shearing process after they have put on their new growth. And then, of course, in the fall of the year, we are, again, and all throughout the year, we're scouting for different types of bugs that might be in the trees that's damaging the trees.

Diane Cornett Deal (04:34): The Christmas tree industry is not a get rich quick scheme. You have at least seven years from the time you plant your first tree until it can be harvested. At that point, then you would reap the benefits of those seven years of being patient and doing all that hard work every year to prepare for the harvest season. And that's a memorable thing, because these people that we meet during the choose and cut season, they are not just customers. They become friends, they become family. It's just an important aspect of my life. I really enjoy the people that I work with and the family members that I work with.

Diane Cornett Deal (05:15): I encourage young people to think about getting into the Christmas tree business. It is important. I think it's a sustainable crop and it's a way to keep our fields in use for agricultural purposes. It would be nice to continue to see these beautiful fields of trees growing throughout our county. At this point, a lot of growers are aging out and they're getting out of the Christmas tree business. So I would encourage young people to consider getting into the Christmas tree business. It is a good business. It's a fun thing. It's a happy thing to be involved with. (singing)

Asset ID: 2021.12.03
Themes: Grandparents, tobacco, farming, work, courts, Christmas trees, generations, farming, agriculture, industry, harvesting
Date recorded: Before May 2018
Length of recording: 06:09 m
File Type: Video
Related traveling exhibition: The Way We Worked
Sponsor or affiliated organization: Bethel School students, in collaboration with Blowing Rock Art & History Museum and Appalachian State University Digitization and Film Services
More information: https://museumonmainstreet.org/blog-node/students-traverse-mountains-get-know-their-neighbors