PEORIA MAGAZINE December 2022

S P O T L I G H T

‘HERE I AM. TAKE ME’ There’s a magic to picking the right Christmas tree, say those who’ve been growing/selling them since World War II

BY BOB GRIMSON

The Talbotts later moved to Green Valley, where the operation continues as Talbott’s Christmas Tree Farm while the Gradys and Grady Christmas Tree Farm LLC are still going strong in Trivoli. Both offer customers the outdoor experience of selecting and cutting their own Christmas trees. They’ll even provide the axes. In the early 1960s, trees were cut and customers made their selection from inventory in the Grady family’s yard, said Lou Little, a daughter of the founders. But then, customers wanted something a little different. Above: Christmas Tree field at the Ol' Dairy Barn Christmas Tree Farm, Trivoli

T he seeds of a 21st century holiday tradition for many in central Illi nois were planted, literally, short ly after World War II. State agr iculture of f icials were encouraging farmers to plant Christmas trees to take advantage of sandy soil. A separate state program gave out those types of trees for use as windbreaks. With his brother, Bob, in the military, Earl Talbott and a cousin, Lacey Talbott, put their first trees in the ground near Manito in 1947.

That same year, the Grady family bought property near Trivoli and Robert Grady took advantage of the state program for windbreak trees as part of his FFA (Future Farmers of America) project. A tree is strapped in place at the Grady Christmas Tree Farm, Trivoli

62 DECEMBER 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE