Montana Ag Network: Longtime family-grown business grows, sells Christmas Trees in Flathead

KALISPELL — Ray Robinson and his family have been growing and selling Christmas Trees in Flathead County for more than 70 years.

Robinson’s trees are distributed all across the state to Polson, Great Falls, and even Havre.

“This is what I felt I was chosen for, and this is what I love to do,” said Ray Robinson.

Ray’s first memories of cutting Christmas trees are from the first grade when his dad Ralph would take him to the tree farm after school.

“Then everything was cut with an axe and a handsaw, and he chopped off two, I was a little guy about this tall, trees were longer than me. He said take them to the truck and when you get done come back and I’ll have a couple more,” Ray recalled.

Ray quickly fell in love with the family business and took over his dad’s outfit alongside his brothers.

Between wholesale and retail, Ray sells between 700 and 900 trees each Christmas.

“One of the things that’s been a company policy since my dad started the company is you buy a Christmas Tree from us and it goes bad, we replace it with the best thing we have in the lot.”

Ray carries ten different varieties of Christmas trees in his lot which can be found at 2140 U.S. Highway 2 East in Kalispell.

He grows his own white fir, alpine fir, and lodgepole pines and brings in trees from other states to give his customers a good selection to choose from.

Sean Wells/MTN News

“We sell most of the Fraser fir — Fraser will grow here in the Flathead, but it doesn’t grow well.”

Ray said the average tree they sell is around 20 years old and between 6 and 9 feet tall.

He cuts his own trees from his farm in Bigfork.

“My favorite part is the harvesting down there, being out in the woods and stuff,” Ray said.

He occasionally gets a little extra help from his 5-year-old grandson.

Sean Wells/MTN News

“It just actually melts my heart to see him help me, that’s probably one of the things that I enjoy the most now.”

At 71 years old, Ray doesn’t plan on retiring anytime soon.

“When they bury me, that’s the way I look at it — good lord willing. My wife keeps saying that we could retire, but you get sawdust in your veins, you don’t quit.”