Tree sales: Kiwanis Club fills charity coffers Tree sales: Kiwanis Club fills charity coffers (December 21, 2005)

By Jane Knoerle

Almanac Lifestyles Editor

There will be no bedraggled Charlie Brown trees for sale on Christmas Eve at the Menlo Park Kiwanis Club tree lot.

"We always sell out well before Christmas," says lot manager Richard Hafenrichter of Menlo Park.

During the holiday season, the Kiwanis Club has sold 850 noble fir trees from its site in the Stanford Stadium parking lot, raising $20,000 to contribute to charity.

Some the past recipients of Kiwanis contributions include the Boys and Girls Clubs, Urban Ministry, Rebuilding Together, Special Olympics and Little House.

The 78-member Kiwanis Club has been selling Christmas trees for 45 years, 20 years at the same location.

The trees were shipped down from Corvallis, Oregon. The sales lot opened December 1.

"We usually start the day after Thanksgiving, but had to wait until after the Stanford-Notre Dame game," says Mr. Hafenrichter, who has managed the lot for 11 years.

Have artificial trees cut down on sales? "Some, but we still sell out," he says.

A 6-to-7-foot noble fir costs $78; a 7 to 8 footer, $93, the same price as last year.

The noble fir is the only one the Kiwanis lot sells. "It lasts better than Douglas fir," he says.

Many customers return year after year, including the Service League of San Mateo County, which orders 20 holiday trees for jail facilities.

Kiwanis Club members who volunteer at the lot don't seem to mind the cold and long hours, says Mr. Hafenrichter.

"There's a lot of camaraderie going on," he says. "The best part is the people who come (to buy a Christmas tree) are always in a good mood."

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