Troy Von Gunten has a fair bit of experience with Christmas trees. For nearly two decades now now people looking for the perfect evergreen centerpiece for their living rooms or businesses have walked Troy's tree lots trying to pick out the perfect Christmas tree. Troy has spent three of those years at the corner of Ward Road and highway 152 where the aptly named "Family Trees" Christmas tree lot has been offering the citizens of Los Banos an alternative to either driving to a 'cut-your-own' tree farm or going to a big-box store.

A family run business, 'Family Trees' has four lots in the Central Valley. Two lots are in Turlock, one is in Modesto, and Troy oversees the fourth lot in Los Banos. Troy notes that the operation is a family endeavor with three generations of their family involved in the business of getting evergreens from tree-farms to family-rooms. When asked how they had become involved in selling Christmas trees Troy said simply, "My mom married a guy that sold trees - she had a lot in Hilmar". His son, Troy Junior, and other family members also work the lot in Los Banos.

For some potential customers, the flavor of an independent tree lot seems to have more of a traditional Christmas feel. The allure of a small tree lot with its flocking tent, the red and white plywood checkout-shack, and the quintessential parallel strands of incandescent lights swinging over the rows of trees, is apparently not lost on the folks that run "Family Trees". In fact when asked why people should buy their trees from him rather than select from several other establishments selling trees in Los Banos, Troy smiles and quips, "Well, we don't have self check-out!", apparently referring to the thinly manned debit-card checkout stations that have become prevalent at some big-box type establishments. Roger Gore, one of his assistants chimes in, ".. and we'll be a little more friendly!" Troy also notes that, "Unlike some of the other places to buy trees in town, [Family Trees] also does flocking", for which he charges four dollars per foot.

The flocking material, (which is intended to give Christmas trees a snowed-on look), can be applied in a custom manner from quite thick to very light depending on the wishes of the customer. Most customers select the tree they want flocked from out on the tree lot and have it taken to the flocking tent.

The flocking process itself is kind of fun to watch and goes surprisingly fast. First the tree is placed on a large rotating stand that slowly spins the tree around as if it were on a Lazy-Susan. The tree is then sprayed down with a light coat of water that Troy says helps the flocking material to adhere to the branches and needles. He then readies the flocking machine by pouring a large bag of 'self adhesive Christmas Tree Flock' into the hopper and flipping on the power switch. As the machine chugs to life, water and the dry flocking material are forced into a nozzle where they are mixed together and (as the operator squeezes the trigger) blown onto the tree as a white-colored slurry. After the tree is flocked it is moved to the far end of the flocking tent where it needs time to dry. Customers usually pick their trees up a day or so later.

At the time of this writing the Family Tree lot has Douglas Fir and Noble Fir trees available. Their initial shipment of 563 Christmas trees came in from Benton County Oregon and they are expecting another delivery a bit later this month. "We like to keep the trees fresh.", says Troy. The folks at family trees hope this will be a good year and Troy plans to stay open as long as he can. "If we have trees, we will be here until Christmas Day," he said.

Family Trees is located at the corner of Ward Road and Highway 152 at the east end of town.

If everyone in Los Banos would just take 1 or 2 hours a month to do something to help their neighborhood or their community we could truly make Los Banos the gem of the valley.

The above is only my personal opinion and I strongly encourage readers to seek out more information from expert sources. Copyright 2009