The Press-Dispatch
Issue link: https://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/1480913
812-867-6978 www.scottyslawn.com YOUR LOCAL SOURCE FOR 1111 E Warrenton Rd. Haubstadt, IN 47639 with approved credit 500 HOUR 3 YEAR NON-COMMERCIAL WARRANTY 0% financing for 60 months 812-867-6978 www.scottyslawn.com YOUR LOCAL SOURCE FOR 1111 E Warrenton Rd. Haubstadt, IN 47639 with approved credit 500 HOUR 3 YEAR NON-COMMERCIAL WARRANTY 0% financing for 60 months Pregnant... or think you are? Call:1-877-257-1084 or Locally Call: 1-812-354-2814 • Free pregnancy testing • Free counseling and info. on pregnancy options. • Confi dential counseling for women & men who are suff ering from post-abortion syndrome. • Residential Care • Health and assistance referrals. • Training and education. • Assistance in getting baby and maternity clothes washpcc@sbcglobal.net www.washingtonpregnancycenter.com A-4 Wednesday, October 5, 2022 The Press-Dispatch NEWS BRIEFS 2022 Chili Cook- off is October 30 Petersburg VFW Post 3587 will host a Chili Cook-off Saturday, Octo- ber 30 with competition beginning at 1 p.m. Com- petitors can bring food from three categories in- cluding chili, side dish and dessert. All entries may be cooked off site, but all entries should be brought in a proper heat- ing, covered or cooling device for correct serv- ing temperature. The public can buy a sampling ticket for $10 for all three and can judge all three. There will be a first place prize for each cate- gory and an award cere- mony at 5 p.m. Samplers can vote on as many cat- egories as they like and competitors can enter all of the categories. The competition is open to any person or or- ganization that signs up for the Chili Cook-off at the VFW in advance. To sign up as a competitor call 812-354-9653. Six weeks until Christmas Tree Season By Sherri Sebella News Editor sherri@pressdispatch.net Shannon and Amanda Potts have worked hard to build the Christmas tree farm that they are currently preparing for the upcoming holiday season, which is only six weeks away. While many are picking out Fall mums with hot days and trees still green, it is hard to believe that the Christmas tree season is right around the corner, but the Pott's Pines Tree Farm opens up on No- vember 19 for those anxious to get a head start on picking out their favorite Christmas tree. "We are closed for Mum season, sorry for those of you who didn't make it out yet, however we plan on opening for Christmas Season on No- vember 19," the Potts said. "Please keep watching for up- dates on our Facebook page. Thank you to our loyal cus- tomers, we are so blessed to have such a fine group of indi- viduals to call family. May you all find as many blessings as we have in serving you. God bless and keep you all through the rest of this year, and be- yond." Married in 1983, the Potts have lived in Winslow their entire married life. In 1984, Pott's Pines brought Christ- mas trees in from a tree farm in Greene County to sell and after buying 12.5 acres in 1990, the couple decided to start planting Christmas trees themselves. "We were laying in bed one night and wondering what we could do for a little money and she (Amanda) said 'how about Christmas trees,'" said Shan- non Potts. "So the first year we did trees and the second year we started selling wreaths." Now the couple have approxi- mately 2,000 Christmas trees in various stages of growth on their farm. "The ones that are big, we make wreaths out of the greenery," Shannon said. "We also bring our big trees out to Loogootee, Lynnville, and Oakland City University. We enjoy going to the light- ing ceremonies for our trees. It's a lot of hard work to have a Christmas tree farm. When you get older, it gets harder. A lot of people that used to have tree farms have retired. There is definitely a tree farm short- age around here. When we got into this business, there were probably at least 12 local tree farms within 50 miles, and now I believe there are 2 oth- ers besides us." The Potts say there are times there are 15 -20 cars in their parking lot during Christmas tree season and that potted trees have be- come a big thing lately. "It is a lot more expensive because of pots, special soil, mainte- nance, and things," Aman- da said. "We go to Michigan for fir trees," Shannon add- ed. "They don't grow well here. We only have three left. They grow well in Michigan, the Carolina's, Colorado, and Minnesota." The Potts head to Michi- gan and get the freshest cut fir trees around. "We call and give them our order and they cut them about two days prior to us going up there," Shannon said. "Everywhere else, they start cutting trees down in Oc- tober to sell in November and December, that's why they dry out so fast. We get Frasi- er Firs, Concolor Firs, and Ca- naan Firs from Michigan. We drive a truck and an enclosed trailer up there and I'll prob- ably get between 75 and 100 trees. I hate to overbuy." The Potts say they are both big kids when it comes to Christmas. "It's our favor- ite time of the year," Aman- da added. "About two to three weeks before we open, we get the shop ready and I start making wreaths in Novem- ber." Shannon takes care of the trees and Amanda takes care of the wreath making. "We'll probably only do this for a few more years," Shan- non said. "We are now serv- ing four generations of fami- lies that come out to buy trees. Our goal is to lease it someday, but still help with the opera- tions. It's not easy to maintain. As long as I'm alive though, there'll be a live tree in my house," Shannon said with a grin. Married in 1983, Amanda and Shannon Potts have lived in Winslow their entire married life. In 1984, Pott's Pines brought Christmas trees in from a tree farm in Greene County to sell and after buying 12.5 acres in 1990, the couple decided to start planting Christmas trees themselves. Pott's Pines begins preparing for busy season