HERALD AND NEWS, KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1958
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IT IS RUGGED COUNTRY up where the Christmas frees grow on the 5.000
era Ken-Dell'ranch out of Tennant. This picture was taken high on the hill
above the ranch headquarters in mid-November during a tour of the op
eration. The road winds its way through the timber to the 6,500
where thinning operations are currently being carried out.
'4
foot level "
Christmas Trees Are Big EBusiness
Now
By PEGGY WALSH
DUNSMUIR In selecting a
Christinas tree whose shiny orna
ments will reflect in the eyes of
bis children on Christmas Day, the
average purchaser does not realize
the tree has been an object of
tender care, for as long as 15
years before it reached the sales
lot.
It is not a matter of chance
that a tree is green and fragrant.
The whims of nature are not con
ducive to symetrical growth of a
tree with one needle-covered tip
just waiting for the Christmas
lights or angeL
At the Ken-Dell ranch in north
era Siskiyou County. Christmas
tree production has become a sci
ence. Kenneth Bishop of Los An
geles and his partner, Del
Heynolds of Montague, now. as
sure their wholesale buyers a
100 per cent marketable shipment
of trees within an established
price range.
The Ken-Dell operation was ex
plained to foresters, conserva
tionists, timber holding interests
and educators in all-day session at
the ranch in mid-November. Both
the cache yards where grading
and sizing is done and the cutting
operations were toured by about
30 men.
A system of Christmas, tree
farming, contract cutting and
DIRECT CONTACT
AUSTIN, Tex. (UPD An offi
cial of the American Medical As
sociation tells this story:
The man on the phone asked the
nurse about a patient named Mc
Gowan. ""His operation was a suc
cess," she replied, "his fever is
down, he'll be eating in two days
and will be released next week.
Who is this calling?" The man re
plied: "This is McGcwan. Nobody
tells me what's going on around
fcer.r
I grading has been developed with
ine neip oi torest experts, conser
vationists and a "great deal of
trial and error. Bishop told the
group.
Public fancy now leans toward
the red fir, popularly known as
silvertip because of the gray-green
new growth at the end of each
branch. Color, stem, taper, full
ness and even needle length must
meet the demands of what the
housewife thinks in terms of in
terior decoration for the holiday
season.
Silvertip thickets above the 6.500
foot elevation on the 5,000 acre
Ken-Dell ranch, 30 miles north of
Weed, have been thinned so each
tree has a six foot growing base.
A standard of 1,240 trees per acre
has been set for maximum growth
of top-grade trees. These trees are
pruned and "shocked" to develop
uniformly thick whorls of branch
es. The "shock" is a slash along
the side of the trunk which delays
the growth and prevents develop
ment of a tall, spindly specimen.
Once a growth area is developed.
tree harvesting begins. At least
20 per cent of the foliage on the
stump is retained and pruned
to provide one upthrusting branch.
A new tree grows from the old
stump in three to five years. The
Ken-UeU ranch counts on a 100
tree per acre harvest for the next
100 years from this method.
Christmas trees and timber
grow on mountainsides in compli
mentary fashion. Bishop told his
guests. Timber provides wind pro
tection for the Christmas trees and
the shorter growth of the Christ
mas trees allow sunshine and
light to reach the developing tim
ber. Bishop said he refused to al
low loggers to cut over his land
unless they would agree to pre
serve the Christmas tree stands.
Uniformed nature lovers envision
waste in the destruction of unused
Christmas trees. Some even de
plore the use of Christmas trees
at an. They do not realize the
orderly growth and harvesting of
Christmas trees is actually a con
servation measure and every tree
that leaves his mountainside has
fulfilled a purpose in nature, Bish
op explained.
The trees are harvested by con
tracts let to "gyppos," a colloquial
term for small timber contractors.
"We used to contract on a foot
age basis," Bishop said, "but we
got a lot of trash trees. Now we
have a premium tree incentive
basis of pay. The trees are graded
into four categories: diamond la
bel, gold label, red label and
green label. When a perfect tree
reaches the cache yard, it is given
a diamond label and the contrac
tor is properly tallied. The pro
cedure continues for the not-quite
perfect gold label tree and the
standard red label tree. Returns
to the contractors are on the basis
of increased pay for better
trees. Nothing is paid the con
tractor for the green label tree.
These are sold in lots to jobbers
or converted into greenery for
wreaths and other decorative
uses."
"There is only one diamond la
bel tree to a truckload," Bishop
concluded, adding there is a great
THE COVER
Ken Bishop, one of
the owners of the Ken
Dell Ranch at Tennant,
holds a by - product of
the Christmas tree in
dustry, a trimmed
branch which will find
its way into a door
charm. The r a n c h is
one of the largest, if
not the largest, Christ
mas tree operations in
the country.
deal even to tree handling. "A gold
label tree may be green label by
the time, it reaches the yard but
with the incentive method a larger
percentage of trees each year are
gold label trees. Keturns from
green label trees go into pruning
for stand improvements.
Ken-Den tree graders are wom
en and they've learned the skill
through practice. Marian Tassie of
Mount Hebron works in sub-freez
ing weather in the cache yards
during October and November but
says she looks forward to this
change in her routine as a ranch
wife.
One of Ken-DeU's larger orders
this year is for Sears, Roebuck
and Company retail stores in Cali
fornia. Graders and sorters were
busy filling orders for 10,000 trees
as the guests observed the oper
ations. Specific orders for each
store are filled from a speciallv
measured and graded cache. The
trees are marked with then: re
tail price at the grading area
and trunk ends are painted with
various colors for identification of
each order. The truck driver iden
tifies each store's trees by the
painted butt ends of the trees as
suring quick, orderly delivery of
eacn oraer.
The Ken-Den ranch uses every
thing but the patch of blue sky
from which the mountainside
seems to hang. Pruned branches
provide a mulch for the develop
ing trees and in the last two years
a wreath, spray and centerpiece
business has developed as a side
line. Mrs. Bishop designs the
pieces, a crew ol seven women
make up the base of the designs
at the ranch. These are shipped
in bundles to Los Angeles where
decorations are added and they are
placed in retail outlets. Margaret
Knowles of Klamath Falls, is in
charge of the door charm, wreath
and centerpiece operation. She
supervises the work both at the
ranch and in Los Angeles and
frankly admits she is amazed to
have found a new career after
passing 60.
Analysis of equipment, roads
and costs has not escaped the
Ken-Dell management. The part
ners have dptprminpri iw ma
chetes and hand axes are best for
pruning, power saws for cutting,
bulldozers with fork lifts for han
dling larger trees and a half track
with a man in a hiiHcot xr,na r
specialized cutting. Thirty miles of
road have been built in tho lact in
years and 50 miles of logging
spurs, ii costs o an acre to prune
a worthless tree thiMrot anri ;
three vears th ctarul ;c
$500 an acre, Bishop .explained.
iue ciunax 01 me. day at the
ranch was the tree judging, an
annual event. Farh nnntrMn ;
the area had submitted bis fa
vorite tree and the top tree for
beauty, conformation and color
was one cut by Bert Tassie on
Ken-Dell developed land.
Judges were Bob Kohn, manager
of the Ralnh Smith T
at Mount Shasta: Hans Karstensen
oi xresa, U.S. agricultural stabi
lizer; Lous Frandsen of San Fran
cisco, president of the Kmithn
Pacific Land Company; Rick Kirk
of G. R. KirkJomapny, Tacoma;
Roy Ritchie, resident manager of
the Latour State Forest at-Redding;
Fred Lendman, trustee of
the R. G. Watt estate. Redding;
Ed Anderson nf Vrolra cnii m.
servationist; and Leonard Hines,
cniei loresier lor international Pa
per Company at Weed.
MILK A STANDBY
BURLINGTON Vt TTPnWW
was good enough for the 13th cen
tury trooDS of Genphic Klion im
good enough for people today, says
the University of Vermont dairy
department. The department said
miiK is sun me Dest tnirst-quench-er
and instant rirv niwHor-millr win
serve well as a substitute. The de-
nartment nntpi tha ' nt
I Genghis Khan had dried milk in-
uuaea 111 uieir ueia rations as lar
back as the 13th century.