MIDDLEFIELD Christmas trees sent to troops overseas

Children create the ornaments that accompany the trees.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
MIDDLEFIELD -- Christmas-tree growers throughout Northeast Ohio do their part to try to make the holidays happy for U.S. military peacekeepers stationed in Bosnia and Kosovo.
Through Operation Evergreen, 103 trees grown in Ohio were shipped overseas. Ohio is the only state to send the trees to the military overseas, organizers say.
Thirteen Northeast Ohio tree-growers donated trees for this year's shipment.
"I think it's so important that we recognize and appreciate how our military works to keep us safe and free," said Sandy Williams of Hardesty Hilltop Tree Farm in Middlefield, one of the participants. "This is just a small gesture."
Lyle Bailey of Baileys' Christmas Tree Farm in Lordstown agrees.
"When I was overseas, no one sent me a Christmas tree," he said of his service 50 years ago when he was stationed in Austria. "It's the least we can do for them."
Other participating tree farms include Boyles' Evergreen in Kinsman; Pioneer Trails in Poland; Bradley's in Vienna; Storeyland Christmas in Burghill; Sugar Pines and Tower N Pines, both in Chesterland; Greig in Willoughby; Mountain Creek in Concord; Sarna's in Jefferson; Henson's Hideaway Inc. in Rome; and Rhodes Sisters and Starr Farm, both in Geauga County. Most of those farms are members of the Northeast Ohio Christmas Tree Growers group.
Children's ornaments
Kindergartners from Champion and West Farmington Elementary schools, Burghill Area Youth Group and children and friends of Sarna's farm created decorations to adorn the local evergreens upon their arrival.
An Army Reserve unit in Lordstown picked up the local trees and ornaments earlier this month. All of the trees donated statewide are transported to Reynoldsburg, a Columbus suburb, where they're inspected, boxed and prepared for shipping to Germany. From there, they're sent to the troops.
Amy Galehouse of Galehouse Tree Farms in Doylestown said the Ohio Christmas Tree Association started the project in 1995. The association initially selected Bosnia because with all of the attention focused at the time on military efforts in the Middle East, efforts in that part of the world were being overlooked.
"A couple of our members had sons and relatives serving in that area," Galehouse said.
Trees may be sent only to peacekeeping areas. They can't go into combat zones.
White pine or most kinds of fir trees that are between 5 feet and 6 feet tall make the best candidates for shipping, Williams said, because they're soft enough to fit in the shipping box. She's hoping recipients of the trees respond with some type of message that she can share with the children who crafted the ornaments.
Williams hopes the trees bring "a little touch of home" to military personnel.
"It's spreading the Christmas spirit and encouraging patriotism at the same time," she said.
denise.dick@vindy.com