They are a local tradition – a fixture of the holiday season. From the Saturday after Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, the Boy Scouts sell Christmas trees at Kendrick Park.

And they’ve been doing so for a long time.

Matt Hart is 17, a senior at Amherst Regional High School, a long-time Boy Scout, and a Cub Scout before that. He said the tree sale has been taking place at that location since the 1970s. His father, Bill Hart, a former Scout Master and a current board member of the Great Trails Council, which oversees troops from Hampshire, Franklin and Berkshire counties, said that selling the trees as a local troop fundraiser goes back about 60 years.

According to Bill Hart, the sale is expected to net between $4000 and $6000 this year, which will be split between the two troops who run the sale – Troop 504, based out of North Congregational Church, and Troop 500, from South Church.

The two troops alternate days running the sale. Each Scout is expected to work three four-hour shifts, including one weekend shift. Thursday it was Troop 504’s turn.

“It’s a great fundraiser for us,” said Matt Hart, explaining that it will pay for the coming year’s troop outings, camping trips and necessary gear.

Clarke Gale, 13, has been a Boy Scout for 3 years, and is a student at Amherst Regional Middle School. He said that some of his best outings this past year were to Camp Massawepie in Upstate New York, a local scouting camp in Chesterfied, and bicycling on the Cape Cod Rail Trail.

The Scouts sell trees purchased locally from Cowls as well as from Vermont. The Cowls trees are chosen and marked by the Scouts and cut down by troop adults. Bill Hart said that they offer several types – Balsam Firs, Douglas Firs, Spruce and Scotch Pines. “Plus a few exotic species,” he said. As supplies on the lot decrease, fresh shipments are brought in.

The trees are priced at $30 and $35. Which ones are which price? The determination is elegant in its simplicity. According to Matt Hart, trees shorter than the Scouts’ on-site shed are the lower price; those taller than the shed are the higher price. And for $2 extra, trees will be put through an automatic netting machine to be “bailed,” wrapping them snugly for more compact transport.

The Scouts will secure the tree on top of your car at no extra charge; they are well-trained in tying knots, after all. But not everyone requires this service.

“Students walking by will get a tree and take it home on foot – just throw it over the shoulder,” explained Bill Hart. “They usually choose a small tree for an apartment. But sometimes you get four or five big brawny guys from a fraternity, and they’ll get a huge tree. They just carry it back.”

As if on cue, college students started coming on to the lot. Matt and Clarke sprung into action, honing their sales skills. Matt helped a couple of guys with a dog choose a tree, while Clarke assisted a group of three women.

For the women, Diana Wartski, Kirstyn Talgo and Sarah Bourque, all UMass seniors, this would be their first tree together in their off-campus apartment on Gaylord Street. So how did they decide which one to get?

“We give Clarke a lot of credit,” said Wartski. “He picked out a good tree for us.”

Bill Hart, noting the unseasonable temperatures, said to the women, “This is the first time we’ve ever sold a tree to someone wearing flip-flops.”

Indeed, most evenings at the tree sale are quite a bit colder than this. Matt Hart says that in the past, they’ve spent a lot of time shaking snow off the trees. But being Scouts, of course, they are always prepared. That shed isn’t just for determining tree prices. Inside is a wood stove.

Matt Hart said that the tree sale is a tradition both for the Scout Troops and for the Town. Older brothers and other troop alum often come back to visit or work the sale. And many residents have bought their Christmas trees from the Scouts for years. He recalled one woman who had left Amherst and moved to New York City returning to buy her tree from them.

“We tied it on to her car really tight for that ride,” he said.

Bill Hart called the Town Manager “gracious” for allowing the sale to continue this year in its long-time location without complication, which had been a question once the property changed ownership from the Kendrick trust to the Town in October. Hart said the Town will develop procedures for use of the land for next year.

The Boy Scouts will be selling trees weekdays from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m., and weekends from 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. up until December 24th.

-- Stephanie O’Keeffe