The great tree hunt

How Chestnut Hill gets its holiday crown

Rich Snowden and Eric Graber are trudging through the fields at Wade's Christmas Tree Farm, engrossed in their annual debate...

By Carla Robinson
Posted 12/21/24

"Too tall?" Snowden muses, eyeing a towering Concolor fir. "Probably," Graber responds.

But as the pair march on through fields of conifers, looking for the perfect tree, Snowden's gaze keeps returning to that magnificent specimen – a massive, full-branched giant stretching some 30 feet into the Pennsylvania sky.

"We can cut down the length of it," Snowden suggests. Graber, whose job includes anchoring these botanical behemoths atop Snowden's rooftop terrace in Chestnut Hill, simply shakes his head and smiles. "Good thing I work for you," he says. "Anybody else? They'd be telling …

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The great tree hunt

How Chestnut Hill gets its holiday crown

Rich Snowden and Eric Graber are trudging through the fields at Wade's Christmas Tree Farm, engrossed in their annual debate...

Posted

"Too tall?" Snowden muses, eyeing a towering Concolor fir. "Probably," Graber responds.

But as the pair march on through fields of conifers, looking for the perfect tree, Snowden's gaze keeps returning to that magnificent specimen – a massive, full-branched giant stretching some 30 feet into the Pennsylvania sky.

"We can cut down the length of it," Snowden suggests. Graber, whose job includes anchoring these botanical behemoths atop Snowden's rooftop terrace in Chestnut Hill, simply shakes his head and smiles. "Good thing I work for you," he says. "Anybody else? They'd be telling you no way."

As holiday preparations begin across Northwest Philadelphia, one Chestnut Hill tradition stands above the rest – quite literally. What began as a simple seven-foot Christmas tree for construction workers has grown into an engineering feat that amounts to our local version of Rockefeller Center's famous spruce. Snowden and the team from his development company, Bowman Properties, spend months planning the selection, installation, and decoration of a towering evergreen that will sit atop his first-story terrace at Germantown Avenue and Gravers Lane – and requires a structural engineer, 7,500 lights, and a small army of craftspeople to create. 

This year's 30-foot Concolor fir, straight from the fields of Wade’s farm, might be their most ambitious yet. 

“I love this tree,” Snowden says. “I think it’s perfect.”

Their quest for the perfect tree led them to Wade's eight years ago after their previous Top of the Hill supplier closed. When Graber initially went looking for a sizable tree, his father-in-law – experienced in putting up big ones for the Philadelphia City Hall – warned he might need to drive all the way to western Pennsylvania. But a phone call to Wade's changed everything. The farm's confident response: "If we don't have something the size you're looking for, I'll give you free trees for the next ten years."

From cattle to conifers: A Chester County legacy

The 135-acre property, set amid the rolling fields and old stone barns of what some locals call Chester County's "gold coast," is a destination all its own. Visitors enter through a pair of stone piers to follow a winding drive past forested fields and over a covered bridge before reaching a hand-built barn surrounded by firs.

It was the family patriarch, T.D. Wade, who put them there. He bought the property back in 1982 and transformed the former cow pasture into a place where saplings would thrive. Eventually, he built a home and moved his family onto the land, and his three children, Biff, Lisa, and Amy Neill, later followed suit. Biff now runs the tree operation while his wife, Jen, runs the Christmas shop. 

They supply trees to businesses, municipalities and museums all over the region – and manage a long cycle of planting and cutting to do so. A typical 7 to 8-foot tree takes about 10 years to grow. Though they do grow faster as they get taller, this year's 30-foot specimen may have been standing in that field for well over 20 years.

Keeping it all going is an ongoing commitment: The family plants between 2,000 to 3,000 saplings a year – and has to plan on losing some to nature.

"The deer get them when they’re small, and there's also the bucks that rub their antlers against the bark," Biff says. "And this year, we're losing a lot of the younger trees to drought."

The art of tree selection: Time-honored tips

Snowden and Graber are not alone when it comes to selecting their centerpiece straight from the source. Those who get their trees this way know that cutting a fresh tree makes a significant difference – in how good it smells and how long it will last. Most Christmas trees sold in city lots are cut as early as October to allow time for shipping and distribution.

"What you're looking for is something fresh," Biff says, demonstrating how he tests the branches. "Pull the end of the branch - that's where the tree grows from, so it should always be supple." While it's normal for inner needles to drop, he explains, the tips should hold strong.

Once you've packed your tree onto the top of your car and carried it home, there are a few things you should do to maintain its vigor. 

"It's important to get it into water right away," Biff explains, noting that a dried-out trunk will quickly seal itself, refusing to drink even when later placed in water. "And if you're not ready to put it up as soon as you get home, pull into the garage, or somewhere out of the wind. Wind can really dry out a freshly cut tree."

Engineering Christmas: A monumental task

For Snowden and Graber, finding the right tree is just the beginning. These arboreal giants present logistical challenges that would daunt most holiday decorators. This year's candidate likely weighs about 1,200 pounds – and that's before adding the 800 pounds of sand used to stabilize the base and the water needed to keep it fresh. The installation requires the precision of a military operation and the expertise of a structural engineer.

"What you really have to worry about is wind," explains Graber, who has been known to lie awake at night pondering the tree's stability. He's developed specialized techniques over the years, including drilling through the trunk two-thirds of the way up to secure anchor wires that bolt to the terrace. While the roof's steel beams can handle the weight, the height creates what engineers call a significant "moment arm" – essentially turning the tree into a giant lever that could cause considerable damage if compromised by strong winds.

After Shechtman Tree Care's crane hoists the tree onto the terrace above the J. McLaughlin boutique, Graber and his team untangle and string 7,500 lights while suspended in an orange boom lift. Then comes what might be the most distinctive touch – thousands of red bows, an homage to Snowden's grandmother Virginia Wilmsen, who traditionally decorated her Wyndmoor home's entry gate bushes with crimson ribbons during the holidays.

Nelida Cruz, who hand-ties each replacement bow needed for the display, crafted 200 new ones this year alone. "I love it," Cruz says. "I love the spirit of Christmas. It's something special."

As far as the team is concerned, all the work is worth it. The tree has become more than a decoration – it's now a marker of the season itself.

"It's a delightful and magnificent addition to the decorations that line Germantown Avenue, and a big part of what makes Chestnut Hill such a great place during the holidays," says Courtney O’Neill, executive director of the Chestnut Hill Business District. “From its first lighting on Thanksgiving until its final twinkle at 1 a.m. each morning, it serves as a beacon – shoppers and visitors are often spotted posing for photos with it as their festive backdrop. This special tradition really adds to the magic of Chestnut Hill at the holidays.”

Come January, Graber and his crew will begin the bittersweet task of dismantling their creation, piece by piece, before sending it to be composted. "It's always a little sad at the end," Snowden reflects, "but it gives so much joy in the month or so that it's up. It's a Merry Christmas to the community from our entire company,  my partner Fred Holzerman and me, my sisters Virginia and Jocelyn as well as my niece, Hannah. The tree is a part of the spirit of this neighborhood."

But there’s always next year. Back at Wade's, Snowden and Graber have already spotted the trees they'll be coming back for once they've had a year or two to get bigger.

"We're always thinking seasons ahead," Snowden says. "See that one over there? In a year or two it will be perfect.”

Wade's Christmas Tree Farm is located at 2390 Harmonyville Road in Elverson, Pa.