The sweet melody of Christmas music fills the air near Rivers Bend, where Poplar Bluff natives Ron and Pam Little, along with family, share in the gift of giving with The Christmas Tree Project.
Little and his family of dedicated volunteers have for the past three years given area residents the opportunity to cut their own real tree for Christmas at no cost.
“There are probably 10-12 acres of trees. We’ve been planting them for about 12 years,” said Little.
He went on to explain they had originally intended to sell the trees, “but it was a COVID year and everyone was having troubles, so we decided to help out and we enjoyed it so much we just kept doing it.”
Little said he estimates they give away anywhere from 250-300 trees every year during the holiday season.
“It gets bigger every year. I love when big groups come and they have more than one kid and they decide on a tree, it’s cool,” said Kim Greaver one of the jovial volunteers.
The farm is a festive place to be this time of year for those seeking some holiday tradition.
“It’s fun. I like dressing up and seeing all the little kids,” said Littles’ granddaughter, Natalie Woodruff, one of the faithful elfin volunteers.
Santa and Mrs. Claus always make an appearance, as well as a couple of elves. The Grinch even stops in to make sure no one is too giddy with holiday cheer.
“We have cleared two more dates with Santa, Mrs. Claus, the elves and the Grinch,” said Little. The next tree-cutting dates will be from 2-4 p.m. Dec. 10 and 17.
“I’ll keep doing this as long as I’m able,” said Little. “Then, I suspect my family may do it after I’m gone.”
Families stroll through the fields of pines, picking and cutting the perfect evergreen before saying their goodbyes to Santa and his helpers.
The Christmas tree project is free to anyone wanting to come cut a tree for their family, but they do accept donations, which are split between chosen charities every year. This year, the charities the project supports are the Boys and Girls Club of the Heartland and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. For directions or more information, visit Ron Littles’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ron.little.94, there he provides dates, directions and contact information.
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