Boy Scout Christmas Tree Lot opens for the holidays

PHOTO: Boy Scout and adult volunteers wait as another volunteer carries a Christmas tree to the main tent for purchase.

By Will Sutcliffe,

BlueDevilHUB.com Staff–

Sophomore Cooper Reynolds heaves the mighty Douglas Fir onto his shoulder, as he and the rest of the volunteer Boy Scouts carry the tree to be placed alongside others in a large pile. He then returns to the truck to help unload another. 

Reynolds and all the rest of the volunteers know that once their hard work pays off, the annual Christmas tree lot will be open for business. He will then volunteer to help customers carry trees and tie them down on cars before returning to help another customer.

The annual Christmas tree lot in South Davis has been put on by the local boy scout troops of Davis for over 50 years.

Troop 139 Scoutmaster Rod Nishikawa, has helped coordinate and plan, as well as put in hard work for many Christmas tree lots over the years, but to Nishikawa, the real reward is in the work. “I’ve worked at the lot for many years and I love seeing the families come and pick out a tree together,” Nishikawa said.

The lot has a long history in Davis and was previously held in Central Park. At that time, Nishikawa’s family would provide the scouts with storage for their trees on one of the family properties. His dad would bring home a free tree for providing the storage for the scouts.

The current location of the lot is at the corner of Mace Boulevard and Covell Boulevard in South Davis. The lot remained open from 1-9 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. in the morning to 9 p.m. in the evening on the weekends.

In order to prepare and get the tree lot open in time for the holidays, the scouting troops of Davis come together to help unload the truck and organize the trees. “It shows how all the units in town can come together despite our different families and personalities for the greater good of scouting and the benefits it provides to our youth,” Nishikawa said.

Reynolds, a Boy Scout in Troop 66, was part of the workforce helping from the truck. The tree lot boasts a large quantity of trees all delivered on the same day to the boy scouts. 

“We unloaded it from the truck, I was in the back of it. There were over 700 trees” Reynolds said.

Even with the large quantity of trees, the lot still sells out very often and quickly due to the popularity of the tradition.

In addition to attending the lot, the Davis Boy Scout Christmas Tree Lot website offers the option for trees to be selected and paid for online and delivered to customers’ homes with an additional cost of $25.

Nishikawa says there’s a payoff from all the hard work put into the fundraiser each year. “These funds raised have provided many opportunities for scouts to participate in camps and other activities that they may not have been able to afford without the tree lot,” Nishikawa said.

The fundraiser depends not only on the customers, but the hard work and persistence of the volunteer scout workers.

Sophomore Tyler Staub helped out during one of his shifts by tying down trees to customers’ cars as well as assisting an elderly lady carry a tree to her vehicle. After he finished, Tyler went right back to help the next customer.

While it’s certainly hard work to carry around Christmas trees, the natural rewards and benefits are worth it for the volunteers.

Sophomore Erik Kimball, a Boy Scout in Troop 66 has volunteered for the lot for five years and is currently close to achieving the rank of Eagle Scout. “I like that I can help other people with the skills that I learned. I also like the smell of the trees and the holiday feelings and vibes that you get,” Kimball said.

Sophomore Alex Gallagher also enjoys both the hard work and socializing with other fellow scouts as a veteran volunteer of the lot. “My favorite memories from the scout tree lot is just helping people get trees and tying them onto their cars. I also just like hanging out with other scouts and teaching them about salesmanship and how to tie trees onto cars,” Gallagher said.

Adult leaders in the boy scouts feel the same way. “Christmas is a time of cheer, goodwill and peace on earth; principles that all of us can relate to in some way.  I think the lot and all the troops and families that work there demonstrate this spirit of Christmas,” Nishikawa said.