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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 2018)
A3 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2018 Christmas tree farmers combat artifi cial trees A social media ad campaign By GILLIAN FLACCUS Associated Press TUALATIN — Rosa Vil- larreal’s three young sons jumped and ran around the fi eld of Christmas trees like jackrabbits, their excitement palpable as they raced from evergreen to evergreen. The boys, ages 2, 4 and 6, were picking out a real tree this year — a new tradition their young parents hope will cre- ate lasting memories. “I saw this video where the big tree, the mom deco- rates it, and the little tree, the kids get to decorate it,” she said, as her husband, Jason Jimenez, snapped a photo of their toddler posing with a tiny tree just his size. Christmas tree farmers across the U.S. worry fam- ilies like Villarreal’s are slowly dwindling. Artifi cial trees, once crude imitations of an evergreen, are now so realistic that it’s hard to tell AP Photo/Eric Risberg A woman gets assistance purchasing an artifi cial Christmas tree at the Balsam Hill Outlet store in Burlingame, Calif. they are fakes even though many are conveniently pre- strung with lights and can fold up for storage at the push of a button. Between 75 and 80 per- cent of Americans who have a Christmas tree now have an artifi cial one, and the $1 billion market for fake trees is growing at about 4 per- cent a year — even though they can be reused again and again. To combat this trend, Christmas tree farmers have joined forces as the Christ- mas Tree Promotion Board and are running a social media ad campaign this hol- iday season to tout the ben- efi ts of a real evergreen. The campaign, called “It’s Christmas. Keep It Real!,” is funded by a 15-cent fee that tree farmers pay for each tree they harvest. It’s a modern-day attempt at such famous agricul- tural ad campaigns as “Got Milk?” and “Beef. It’s What’s For Dinner.” A series of short mov- ies on Instagram and Face- book follow real families as they hunt for the perfect tree, cut it down and decorate it. The target audience is the “millennial mom” because tree farmers are increasingly worried that young adults starting their own family tra- ditions will opt for an arti- fi cial tree, costing farmers a generation of customers, said Marsha Gray, execu- tive director of the Christ- mas Tree Promotion Board, based in Michigan. “The target we’re talking about right now is millen- nials: fi rst house, fi rst baby. That’s kind of the deci- sion-making time,” she said, adding that the videos show families cutting their own trees and buying pre-cut trees from lots. “We realize they may have never done this before. And we need to help them discover it and fi gure out Helping Hands closes one Seaside center, to open another By R.J. MARX The Daily Astorian SEASIDE — Helping Hands has closed one facil- ity in Seaside as the home- less outreach center prepares to replace it with another. Raven Russell, the out- reach center’s development director, told city councilors Monday night that the cen- ter was unable to negotiate terms with the landlord for the rental of the building on U.S. Highway 101. The “vast majority” of former residents of the facil- ity are now served in a new housing facility in Asto- ria, where they have better access to county resources, Russell said. The shelter on Marine Drive opened last month. The new Seaside facility, located on the east side of U.S. Highway 101, is “much larger than it appears,” Rus- sell said, with 10 emergency shelter beds and long-term housing slots. The new facility should be open within the next two weeks. In the meantime, beds remain available at the Astoria facility, she said, with occu- pancy about 90 percent of capacity. In 2004, Alan Evans, the organization’s founder and executive director, opened an eight-bed home for the homeless in Seaside. Help- ing Hands now operates 11 emergency homeless shelter and re-entry program facil- ities, providing up to 190 beds per night in Clatsop, Tillamook, Yamhill and Lin- coln counties. The new Seaside prop- erty is owned by the state Department of Transporta- tion and leased for $150 a month. Repairs include a new kitchen, bathrooms and fl ooring . “We’re actually going to be increasing our capacity at that facility with this renovation,” Russell said. “We’re trying to add as many beds as we can to meet the needs of the homeless in this area.” how to include it in their holiday.” It’s impossible to know exactly how many real Christmas trees are sold each year because there is no cen- tral clearinghouse or agency collecting that information. But the National Christmas Tree Association estimates about 25 million evergreens are harvested each year — and presumably, most of those are sold. Americans buy about 10 million artifi cial trees each year, said Thomas “Mac” Harman, CEO of Balsam Hill, the leading retailer of artifi cial Christmas trees. Harman is also the president of the American Christmas Tree Association, which does not disclose its membership but raised $70,000 in dona- tions in 2016 for its work, which includes touting artifi - cial trees. Most people buying arti- fi cial trees cite convenience, allergens and fi re safety, he said. “We’re seeing a trend where consumers want to set their tree up over Thanksgiv- ing weekend and leave it up all the way until after New Year’s.” That’s safer with an artifi cial tree, Harman said. Denise Shackleton got a real tree each season before switching to an artifi cial one. On a recent day, she was at an artifi cial tree outlet store in Burlingame, Califor- nia, shopping for a new tree for herself and one for her daughter. “No one got as excited about a real tree as me, but it was just too much work to put the real tree on my car, get it into the house — all of that,” she said. “It’s totally for convenience.” Patricia “Ann” Maize Born Patricia Ann Davis on November 14th, 1936 in Astoria, OR, Ann always preferred being called by her middle name. She was raised and schooled in the neighboring town of Warrenton, Oregon, where she lived most of her life. Thanks to her parents, Ruby and Russell Davis, she lived a full and active childhood, alongside her five older brothers: Russell (John), Ralph, Robert (Bob), Wilbur (Wink) and Richard (Dick) and one younger sister Bonnie (Beanie). As the first- born daughter following the birth of 5 boys, Ann learned to hold her own and grew to become an independent, strong and capable woman, traits that she embodied throughout her entire life. As her dad Russell said, “she was my best son!” As in most small towns, high school played an important role in ones’ life. Ann joined the high school cheering squad and wooed her team to victory, eventually wooing the key football and basketball star, her husband, Richard (Dick) Maize, as well. Following their wedding on June 17, 1956, they moved to Forest Grove to take advantage of Dick’s basketball scholarships at Pacific Lutheran and again to Oregon State University where the coach then took him to Sacramento State University. It was there that they welcomed their first child, Stephen Richard, in 1958. While Dick was at school or on the court, Ann worked at the Pacific Bell Telephone and Telegraph company. Ann and Dick moved back to Warrenton in 1959 where Dick joined the family grocery business, Maize’s Market and Ann continued her role as homemaker following the births of daughter Julie in 1961 and son Russell in 1962. They conveniently lived across the street from the store in downtown Warrenton until they moved into their “dream” home at Smith Lake in 1969. Ann spent her parental years keeping pace with her kids’ active schedules, which included hunting, fishing, horse and dog shows as well as many golf tournaments. Ann loved her family and home and she always made sure her kids came back to a well-kept and maintained home. The yard was large and after she finished the mowing, pruning and tending to her roses and the burn pile, it was time to start all over again. Word soon circulated around town that no matter what time of day you passed her house, there would be Ann on the lawn mower. She was equally active in the family business and her community; Ann loved to golf and was President at the Astoria Golf & Country Club Women’s Group and a Deacon at her Church. She also helped when needed at the family grocery stores in Warrenton and Gearhart, and at their last venture, Westlake Market located on the Clatsop Plains. Ann became a nurturing caregiver to her husband Richard after he suffered a stroke in 1998 and remained so until his death in 2004. Of all her accomplishments, the one that Ann was most proud of was her family and the friends she loved. You would feel welcomed at her home immediately while greeted with a fully decorated, outdoor table set, set for visiting. She made the time and found the specific way to make you feel special. And anyone who knew Ann would laugh as she frequently said, “there’s no room for errors” referring to any family accomplishment. Ann died unexpectedly on Tuesday, December 5th with her family at her side. She is survived by her son Steve (Connie) of Phoenix, Arizona, her daughter Julie of Portland, Oregon her son Russell (Chris) of Long Beach, Washington, her eight grandchildren: Thomas, Ciara, Stevie, Weston, Christian, Ashley, Whitney & Karli and her great- grandchildren TJ, Connor, Braden and the newest, Jack; and her sister Beanie Johnsen. Viewing will be held from 1 – 6 pm. Friday, December 14th, at Caldwell’s Luce-Layton Mortuary, 1165 Franklin Ave., in Astoria. A service and reception will be held at Warrenton Methodist Church on Saturday, December 15th at 11:00 am followed by a graveside service at 2:00 pm at Ocean View Cemetery. Memorial contributions, in her honor, can be made to: Warrenton Methodist Church, P.O. Box 296, Warrenton, OR 97146. The impact Ann had on her family and friends will remain eternal. NOW OPEN! Seaside PRICES EFFECTIVE DECEMBER 11 THRU 24, 2018 Farm & Garden GEORGIA BOOTS • Choose from our entire line of Georgia boots in assorted sizes & styles $ 10 Get in. Get help. Get on with your life. Our new Farm & Garden building is now open! Come see us for livestock supplies & equipment needs. ANY STIHL CHAINSAW or TRIMMER VALUED OVER $300 $ 30 OFF THE REGULAR PRICE OFF THE REGULAR PRICE Nutrena Nature Wise 16% LAYER PELLETS • Natural, balanced nutrition to support production of fresh, hard- shelled eggs in free-range and home-raised flocks • 50 lb. 9 99 ENTIRE LINE OF CARHARTT • Premium work clothing for exceptional durability, comfort and quality of construction TRAEGER RESERVE PREMIUM PELLETS • Oak, cherry and apple blend of pellets for smokers and pellet grills • 20 lb. bag. SALE PRICE 9 99 20% THE REGULAR PRICE Locally Owned and Operated Sales & Service 39 S. Holladay Drive O F F Phone 738-3053 STORE HOURS Mon. - Fri. 8 to 6 Saturday 9 to 5 Sunday 10 to 4