KINGFIELD – A small, family-owned Christmas tree farm which sits under the shadow of Mt. Abram (known more formally as Mt. Abraham) has been growing Christmas trees for families in Franklin County for more than fifty years.
For Adam Dyar, the family Christmas tree farm is more than a job: it is a passion. Adam runs McClure’s Tree Nursery, located on Route 142/Salem Road in Kingfield, about a mile out of the village. McClure’s was started in 1969 by Adam’s grandparents, Howell and Linda McClure, who bought the old farmhouse and acreage in 1968.
Howell, who loved the farm and worked outside in the fields until two months before his death in December 2022, passed ownership to his son, Linden McClure. Adam, Linden’s nephew, has been working on the farm since he was a teenager and he is now responsible for the daily operations. Linden and his sons come up to work on the farm in the summers, Adam said.
Adam said that Howell started with Scotch pines, then shifted to growing Balsam firs, which remain the staple at the farm today. Instead of bringing in cultivated stock, Adam selects Balsam seedlings in the woods on the farm and plants those seedlings in the fields, keeping about eight or ten acres in production with a planting rotation.
They have added some Frasier firs, which are native to North Carolina and have to be imported in. These firs are more sensitive than the native Balsams, and have to be planted at a slightly higher elevation to keep the roots from rotting. In addition to Christmas trees, McClure’s has landscape trees and shrubs.
From April to December is the busy season at McClure’s. In the early spring, Adam sets in new seedlings while the trees are dormant. Seedlings are transplanted into the fields when they are two or three years old, and harvested for Christmas trees at 10 to 13 years.
Later in the spring and early summer, it is time for fertilizing and mowing. In late July through September he ‘shears’ the trees, shaping them for the preferred conical Christmas tree shape.
Trees naturally seek the most sunlight, so by planting them in an open field, the firs tend to grow outwards instead of upwards, creating a more traditional Christmas tree shape on their own. When trees have to compete against other trees for the sunlight, they tend to grow long trunks and limited foliage towards the top. Adam is careful about shearing the trees, selecting points that will encourage a fuller growth instead of cutting too deep into the tree’s branches and stunting the development. Each tree is trimmed individually to give it the best shape.
“You train the tree to do what you want it to do,” Adam explained. He noted there are many different ways to do it, but this is what he knows, so this is what he does.
Adam keeps an eye on trends around Christmas trees, but also tries to keep some variety. In previous years the Christmas tree would be the centerpiece of a room, dominating over everything else; now he is noticing a trend towards a slimmer tree that fits better in a corner or a smaller room. He also keeps a variety of heights, from small three- and four-foot trees to towering 12-foot trees for a cathedral ceiling.
The busiest part of the season starts around Thanksgiving, when folks start buying their trees. Adam’s customers come from all over New England for the experience of visiting a Christmas tree farm, cutting their own tree, and maybe even getting some family photos in the process. Adam also offers pre-cut trees in various shapes and sizes from which people can choose their tree.
While Maine-grown trees are becoming more popular in a wide market, Adam tries to balance that demand with his personal philosophy. He turned down an offer from someone who wanted to purchase 400 trees, paid with cash, so they could export them to Massachusetts and sell at a substantial mark-up. It would have been a good sum of money, but he worried about not having enough for his regular customers.
“It is a business, and you have to make a living, but you are also representing something more,” Adam said. Growing up around his grandparents, he gained an appreciation for a more simplistic way of life. He focuses on things he feels really matter: relationships and traditions. McClure’s trees have been part of Western Maine family Christmas celebrations for over fifty years, and there is value to that as well.
“You have to like what you’re doing if you’re going to do Christmas trees,” Adam said. He loves the freedom of being outside, of watching things grow and change.
