Boy Scout Troop 52 continues tradition of selling Christmas Trees at Royal Plaza Center

Royal Examiner publisher Mike McCool on Boy Scout Troop 52 Christmas Tree lot speaking to Hoss Feldhauser. Photo and video by Mark Williams, Royal Examiner.

Boy Scout Troop 52 has been selling Christmas trees for 51 years; it is the main fundraiser for the troop. An estimated 15,000 trees have been sold over the years; many Scouts have learned the basics of salesmanship, marketing, and commercial forestry through the Troop’s Christmas tree sales program.

Christmas tree sales were first introduced to the troop by the efforts of Ken Fortune, Assistant Scoutmaster and Ken Bovard, Scoutmaster in December of 1968. The troop purchased trees from a farm in Bentonville that first year, and shortly after that, they branched out and purchased some of their trees from the Rudacille farm.

During the first 20 years, the troop bought the Christmas trees from various tree farms in Virginia and as far away as Pennsylvania. In 1979 Dr. Craig Zunka, a long time member and Eagle Scout from the troop, agreed that the Troop could plant trees on his farm in Browntown.

Depending on the variety of the tree, it takes from 6 to as much as 12 years from the time a scout plants a Christmas tree that it is ready for sale.

The Scouts learned how to plant the seedlings, how to properly trim the different variety of trees and the need to keep the weeds from growing around the bases.

The first tree sales were held on the “Weaver lot” across from the old Front Royal Volunteer fire station that was beside what was then Town Hall. Peyton Street now runs through where the Troop had its first tree sales lot.

It was just after the 1969 tree sales that Bill Ollinger, manager of the Safeway store in the Royal Plaza shopping center, invited the troop to set-up the 1970 tree sales next to his grocery store, and they have been selling trees somewhere on the property of the Royal Plaza shopping center ever since. The Troop has enjoyed and appreciated the support from the merchants in the shopping center that have been received for all these years!

All of the profits from the tree sales go into the Troops operating account to pay for advancement awards and activities of the troop. They also pay for the Scouts cost towards summer camp.

Royal Examiner stopped by the lot and spoke to Ronald “Hoss” Feldhauser: