WORKING
Eva Scholtz
HE IS
Spreading the holiday spirit.
A CHRISTMAS TRADITION
Christmas tree shopping is a sure-fire way for those of us not yet full
of Christmas cheer to get into the holiday spirit, Dan Hay says.
Whether it’s the smell of pine, the straw on the ground or the crisp
outdoor air, the act of searching for the perfect tree is a Christmas
tradition in and of itself.
Unless you’re hoping to find a scraggly “Charlie Brown” kind of tree,
Dan’s Christmas Trees will have just what you’re looking for.
Hay, of Fountain Valley, started selling Christmas trees 15 years ago on
behalf of the Knights of Columbus in Westminster.
Three years later he brought the business to Beach Boulevard in
Huntington Beach. Dan’s Christmas Trees is now located at Garfield Avenue
and Main Street, its home for the last six years.
Hay, along with Maurice and Mario Ortiz, all graduates of Westminster
High School, have been working together selling Christmas trees each
holiday season since the start of the business.
Dan’s Christmas Trees sells noble, grand and Douglas firs. The trees, all
from Oregon, grow about a foot a year on average.
A TREE FOR EVERY PURPOSE
Noble firs, the most expensive variety of the three, stand the tallest
and are the strongest, which is great for hanging large ornaments.
Grand firs have the best pine smell of the three.
Douglas firs, the most common, are also the least expensive.
Due to a lack of seeds available for planting about six or seven years
ago, there is a shortage of Oregon trees this year.
This shortage unfortunately has caused the growers to charge retailers
20% to 25%, which means higher prices for consumers.
Tree growers say it may be even worse next year because of a previous
drought.
Hay, who is employed at the Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, is very
active in the community of Huntington Beach.
He has served as a past president of the Huntington Beach High School
Football boosters, as well as serving as president of the Huntington
Beach Exchange Club, in which he helped to raise money for child abuse
centers.
Hay has raised $15,000 from different businesses and local organizations
for new dugouts and equipment sheds at the freshman baseball field at
Huntington Beach High School.
A LOCAL FIXTURE
Currently, Hay is vice president of the Huntington Beach High School
Foundation, whose main project is raising money for the “Take the Plunge”
campaign to rebuild the Huntington Beach High School swimming pool. He is
also vice president of the South Huntington Beach Junior Miss Softball
League.
Knowing so many people in the community, Hay says his clientele make it a
tradition to come back every year to say hello.
Hay, 41, and his wife Carrie have four children: Robert, 18, Brandon, 16, Garrett, 14, and Brittany, 12. All attend schools in Huntington Beach:
Dwyer, Huntington Beach High School and Golden West College.
An Eagle Scout from Huntington Beach and a past Scoutmaster for Boy Scout
Troop 1, Hay says all of his boys are Eagle Scouts or working toward that
goal.
Catering mostly to downtown Huntington Beach as well as Seacliff
residents, Dan’s employees are all student-athletes from Huntington
Beach, Edison or Fountain Valley high schools.
SERVICE WITH A SMILE
The trees are drilled at the bottom and kept in water-filled stands
before they are put on to the lot. Hay says this is the best way to keep
the trees fresh, a service he provides for his customers. Additional
services include flocking, spraying the trees with a white substance
reminiscent of snow, and putting a flame-resistant coating on all trees
that are to be for use in commercial businesses or public areas such as a
church or school.
And they even deliver.
Dan’s tree lot is open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.