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Area residents spread holiday cheer to troops overseas
By Sean Barron
POLAND
It may have been an unusually cold morning, but what Dave Grimm saw happening around him warmed his heart.
“It makes me feel proud of my country, proud of the people who are concerned for the vets and those still serving,” the Poland man observed.
Grimm, 76, who served two years in the Army in the early 1960s that included a tour of duty in Korea, was referring to the few dozen people who took part in Saturday morning’s 22nd annual Operation Evergreen project at Pioneer Trails Tree Farm, 4222 Center Road (U.S. Route 224).
Sponsoring the effort was the Frazeysburg, Ohio-based Ohio Christmas Tree Association, a nonprofit organization of tree growers statewide who participate in programs and activities to help people discover more about the ecological, aesthetic and economic benefits of tree production, according to its mission statement.
The OCTA also reaches out to veterans of all military branches each year by supplying Christmas trees to soldiers stationed around the world.
Those who took part in Saturday’s effort cut down 10 fir trees to be shaken, baled and wrapped before being sent to another farm, then inspected by the Ohio Department of Agriculture, noted Mary Jan Perdulla, Pioneer’s owner.
Afterward, the 6- to 8-foot trees will be shipped to Kuwait and distributed to military bases as a way of expressing appreciation to and honoring veterans for their service, Perdulla explained.
“I want people to remember the people who gave up their lives or time,” said Grimm, who also retired after having worked 33 years as a linesman for the Ohio Edison Co. “I get chills just hearing the national anthem.”
Many young people didn’t seem to mind experiencing a few chills as they braved the cold and wind with hack saws in hand to cut down the 10 trees behind the business and place them on sleds or in a wagon. Participants included Poland Seminary High School sophomores Molly Malmer, Mary Liddle, Laurel Zarbaugh and Haley Trulio, all of whom said they have at least one relative who has served in the military.
“It’s a small token of our gratitude” toward those who have selflessly stepped up to serve the nation, Haley said.
“We thought it would be a good idea to carry on the tradition,” Molly added, referring to the fact that the group also took part in the effort when they were Girl Scouts.
Also putting their tree-cutting talents to work were Marty Novotny, 9; David Bennett, 9; Marshall Lewis, 11; and Marty’s father, Marty Novotny IV, all members of Boardman-based Trail Life Troop 1412, a faith-based outdoor adventure, character-building and leadership program for boys and young men.
“We did this last year,” the younger Marty Novotny said. “We do this yearly.”
Saturday’s project also was part of an OCTA effort in which 100 trees were to be cut down on farms across the state, all of which will be sent to soldiers on bases throughout the world, Perdulla explained.
“A tree might be enjoyed by 400 or 500 soldiers,” she said, noting that the Christmas trees should reach their destinations the last week of this month.