Innovation has kept the Hill Tree Farm successful and thriving for the past 75 years.

The Hill Tree Farm at 1434 Gilberts Hill Road, Lehighton, has been family owned since 1938 when Nelson Phifer and Joseph Gerhardt began planting Christmas trees on the side of Mahoning Mountain.Phifer's nephew, Larry Hill at 78 is likely the oldest Christmas tree grower in the state. Although he continues working at the tree farm, he defers most of the day-to-day running of the business to his sons, Jeff and Steve, who he says have taken innovation to new levels to remain competitive in the retail market."My uncle and Joseph Gerhardt were in business together for a few years until Gerhardt died at an early age of a brain tumor," Hill said. "My uncle took care of the business when Gerhardt was serving in World War II, so that he would have a business to come home to."During that period, Larry was a young man who helped on the tree farm, a man that Phifer came to depend on, and then made a full partner some years after Gerhardt passed."I've seen changes in the business," he said. "I remember my uncle bringing in the Douglas fir and then the Fraser fir."The Douglas fir is a soft-needled tree with excellent needle retention, which remains one of the most popular holiday trees for over 70 years at the farm, while the Fraser fir has a sturdier branch and is popular with holiday tree shoppers for its short dark green needles.Proving its worthHill said that when the farm brought in the Douglas fir, his uncle was ridiculed that it wouldn't work because it was a West coast tree and that the tree wouldn't thrive in the harsh northeast Pennsylvania winters.But the Douglas fir proved its worth. It was a much better tree than a pine tree. Now discerning shoppers had more choices and the Douglas fir proved to be a popular addition.Up until then, shoppers bought many blue spruce, which Larry said had a sticky feel to the needles.In the early 1950s, when they brought in the Fraser fir, Larry remembers the expense of innovation."Innovation is expensive," he said. "Its an expense that you put out and you don't know for years if it will pan out," he said. "We spent $5,000 to bring in the Fraser fir, and we had no idea whether it would produce. We had to wait 10 to 12 years to see the first cycle."The Fraser fir, while continuing to be a very popular tree, is getting some serious competition this year from trees from Russia the Nordmann Fir and the Turkish fir.The Nordmann fir is a very popular tree in Europe as it has slightly open branches to allow ornament placement; while the Turkish fir, similar to the Nordmann, has slightly shorter needles and tends to look quite full in appearance, plus the branches are very sturdy.A few of the "new" trees were sampled by Hill's customers in the last couple of years, with pleasant results. The Hills are finally ready this year to unveil the new trees to the public."This year we finally have enough of the Russian trees ready to sell," said Jeff Hill.Needle retentionJeff said that the trees have proved to have extremely strong branches and the needles hold up."You can see the needles go back all the way to their trunk," said Jeff. He added that the trees, although they are 11 years old, still have not dropped their needles.Jeff explained that fir trees drop their needles much the same as other trees, only not as often."Most fir trees drop their needles every four or five years, while other trees drop them every year," he said."We anticipate selling a few hundred of these new trees within the first week," said Jeff.Jeff said that they have learned quite a bit about taking care of the Russian trees and feel that they can offer a nice looking tree at a fair price.Jeff said that the Russian trees are slower growing, even in optimal circumstances, when Mother Nature is kind.Jeff noted that when any fir trees suffer a late freeze in spring, the trees lose a whole year's growth, which has not affected the Russian trees so far."Even with corrective pruning, a tree never gains back what it has lost during a frost," said Jeff.Frost damageWhen fields of trees are lost to a late freeze, the tree farm can claim insurance damages, but in reality they are only reimbursed the cost of the seedlings."We put a lot into getting a tree to five feet," said Jeff. "We lost five or six years of labor costs taking care of that tree."Larry said that his sons continue to innovate, with the latest innovations, a cafe, where customers can find refreshments; a gift shop, where customers can shop for Christmas related decorations and ornaments, plus have their staff design a custom wreath. He noted that they have also added a loading dock, so that trees sold for wholesale can be walked right into the trucks for delivery."We are offering other services," said Larry. "We have a tree trolley that takes customers across 50 acres to select the perfect tree. We're making finding your tree a true Christmas experience. That seems to be what the customers want."Larry said that he has seen some customers coming to Hills for generations."We see the grandparents, children and grandchildren coming for their tree," he said.Hills has also been good for the local economy."We've also provided jobs for 750 to 1,000 people over the years in some capacity," said Larry.Larry said that records show that the first tree sold at the farm was sold for $1.50 and now the average tree sells for $35."We're hoping that everyone wants a real Christmas tree to experience the tradition of Christmas," Larry said.