By Gabrielle Terrett

The Vicksburg Post

The Christmas holiday will be starting soon in Vicksburg with the help of Hale Fireworks Christmas tree sale.

Hale Fireworks is an organization, which is based in Buffalo, Missouri and primarily provides a huge variety of fireworks to the public at affordable prices.

However, the organization is now selling Christmas trees to start the holiday season off right. Many residents may remember the Hale Fireworks tent with the black cat on the top and fireworks being sold underneath.

During this time of the year the products being sold are much different than fireworks. Christmas trees are sold to celebrate the beginning of the popular holiday and put people into the spirit.

The organization has been around for many years and comes to the city faithfully around Christmas time, as well as during other holidays, to spread the joy of the season with patrons in the city.

“It’s been a while that we’ve been coming here. It’s been at least 10 years that I know of. Hale’s has been around for a hot minute though. We’ve been selling trees for a long time and we have locations in a lot of places actually,” said James Merstorf a Hale Fireworks sales associate.

“There’s one in Hattiesburg, we have one here, Louisdale, Mobile, Magee, Missouri, Arkansas. In fact, our Hale’s Fireworks home base is in Missouri.”

Hale Fireworks sells one type of tree in Vicksburg each year, the Frasier spruce tree.

In the past the organization has sold more than 100 Frasier spruce pine trees and a handful of tree trimmings each year and the current sale is expected to be no different than last years.

“I have about 100 trees here and my boss is pretty confident that he’s going to have to bring about 100 more so I’m happy,” said Merstorf.

“We just have one type of tree. They are all Frasier spruce pine trees. They’re from either North or South Carolina and these all vary in size from like five feet and the tallest I have is about eight or nine feet tall. ”

The organization has been around for years and has become a tradition for many Vicksburg residents. The old and young come out to participate in tree picking from the Hale Fireworks tent each year.

Many pick up boxes or even truckloads of trimmings to decorate or boil in homes as well.

“A lot of people come by and buy the trimmings. A lot of older ladies like to come by and they’ll boil them in water to make their houses smell like Christmas,” said Merstorf. “This one lady came by, got like a whole truck bed full and she brought back a wreath she made. It was really pretty.”

The organization stations its sales tent between McAlister’s and Circle K on Clay Street each year and is in town for just about each holiday to sell season appropriate products.

“I know I’m going to be here for about two weeks and then I will be going to Louisdale to sell fireworks and someone else is going to takeover here and start selling fireworks,” said Merstorf.

“We will most likely be selling fireworks up until Jan. 10 or so.”

This year Hale Fireworks encourages the use of real Christmas tree’s and with each purchase, tips on the upkeep of the trees are shared.

One tip to keeping the Christmas trees looking brand new during the holidays is to be sure to water the trees daily.

As the pine trees are a source of nature, each must be taken care of as such.

Pine trees should be watered once a day and each tree may take up to a gallon of water per day.

Also be sure to check for browning leaves and keep the tree trimmed. This will make the tree appear fresh at all times.

Another tip on how to keep pine trees looking fresh during the Christmas season is to trim only about ½ an inch off of the trunk before setting it into a tree stand.

It is extremely important not to trim the trunk to fit into a tree stand but to purchase a stand which will fit the tree properly.

If not, the tree may wither and brown sooner than preferred.

Lastly, be sure to set pine trees in a sunny area. This last step will ensure the tree will remain nice, plump, green and firm.

Hale Fireworks will be selling Christmas trees in Vicksburg until Dec. 8 and will then transition into its firework sales.

“I wake up and open around 9 a.m. and I close around 10 p.m.,” said Merstorf. “I try to stay open kind of late especially on Friday, which is payday, because people will be out doing stuff and they’ll stop and be like ‘what’s going on over there? I see Christmas lights’ and they’ll come over to see what we have.”

Each tree is unique in its own way and will surely be a great addition to the Christmas atmosphere in homes this Christmas holiday.