If the answer is not yet, and you live in the Portland area, we encourage you to head right on over to N. Lombard and N. Chautauqua to the Portland Peninsula Optimist Club Memorial Christmas Tree Lot.
The Portland Peninsula Optimist Club has been selling Christmas trees at this location for 53 years. The great customer service, and even better prices, invite return customers and allow the Optimist Club to provide scholarships for students at Roosevelt High School, and others through the Mary Mock Family Scholarship Award and Theodore Roosevelt Women's Association. According to an Optimist Club spokesperson, more than a $1 million has been awarded through the years.
We thought we would share some of the testimonials proclaiming what a wonderful tradition the Portland Peninsula Optimist Club Memorial Tree lot is:
David B. said, "This is a great place to buy a wonderful tree for a community cause. The volunteers who run this place were very helpful, loaded my downed tree that had a fresh-cut and was shaking for needles on top of the cart. We will return here every year."
Madelyn A. said, "I own a business just down the street from this place and it's become a tradition to go as a group and pick out our tree here. This was our third year buying a Christmas tree from them, good selection and the people are friendly. Prices were a little higher than what we pay at a tree farm out in Oregon city for our tree (for the house) but maybe that's normal for the city vs the burbs."
Tuti M. said, "I just got my tree here and everyone was super nice and helpful. It was very organized. We were greeted immediately and notified of the prices. They cut the end, trimmed off the lower branches, shook the excess water off, bound the branches and tied it to my car roof in no time....I couldn't be happier. They even gave me a free sensor to tell me when the tree needs watering."
After Christmas, the Optimist Club works with the Boy Scouts Troop 71 North to recycle Christmas trees and wreaths. The hours for drop-off are December 26-31, 2017 and January 6-7, 2018, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
This is another example of a long-running Optimist Club program that has a positive impact on the people the club serves in their local community. Well done, Optimists!
Please tell us what your Optimist Club is doing this holiday season by sending a note and a photo to this link. Thank you.
Photos contributed by the Portland Peninsula Optimist Club.