What is it about Carbon County Christmas trees that makes them so special?

Over the past decade, a tree from Carbon County has been chosen as the official White House tree five times.The latest farm to take the honor is Bustard’s Christmas Trees. The farm earned the honor this July by winning the 2015 grand national championship at the National Christmas Tree Growers Convention.Bustard’s may not be as familiar to local residents, because most of their trees are sold to customers in the Philadelphia area. But they have operated a farm in Towamensing Township since 1985.On Black Friday, a 19-foot tree from Bustard’s will go on display in the Blue Room of the White House. It will most likely come from Towamensing Township.Bustard has about a dozen Fraser fir trees that meet the specifications the White House is looking for. On Wednesday, White House officials will travel to the farm to select one of them.He believes there is something about the makeup of the soil in this area that produces above-average Christmas trees.“I’m not sure what the glaciers did through this area, but it made the soil very fertile,” he said.Jay Bustard, whose family has been selling trees since 1929, said that having a tree displayed in the White House is about the pinnacle of his business.“Obviously, getting married and having kids is more important,” Jay Bustard said. “But it’s up there.”Bustard’s took the blue ribbon at the Pennsylvania Farm Show earlier this year, which gave them the opportunity to compete for the national crown. Jay recalled how the Myers Spruce tree that won in Harrisburg was much smaller than the average winner, which is usually just inches short of the 8-foot limit for the competition.“We were like, ‘it’s the little engine that could, beating all of the big trees,’” he recalled.After they got the news that they were chosen for the White House, one of the first calls Bustard made was to a fellow local tree farmer. Botek’s Crystal Spring Farm in Mahoning Township has displayed its trees at the White House four times since 2006.“The tree growing group isn’t really huge,” Bustard said. “We pretty much all get along.”In fact, it was the late local tree farmer Charles Yenser who first recommended that the Bustards buy their farm here.He spotted the farm on his route as a rural mail carrier, and suggested it to the Bustards, who bought it immediately.Today, the farm has about 30,000 trees. About 1,500 of them will be sold this year.“This is our little slice of heaven,” he said.