HARRY NOONAN -- Working

-- Story by Mathis Winkler

HE IS

Making fresh cuts

A RETURN TO HIS ROOTS

As a child, Noonan helped out in his family’s Costa Mesa Christmas

tree business, established by his grandfather in 1944.

His involvement ended a few years ago, when Noonan, now 28, moved to

San Diego. He’s since set up a financial services firm there but recently

decided to rejoin the rest of the family on the tree lot.

For a long time, he didn’t miss the long hours in the artificial

forest, he said.

“But last week, as I was packing things up to come here, I was looking

forward to it again,” Noonan said Wednesday morning, standing in front of

several rows of trees. “It’s like riding a bicycle again. You never

forget what to do.”

THEY COME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES

The trees get trucked down from Oregon -- since the lot opened about a

week ago, it has received two shipments of about 500 trees, and there are

more to come.

“When you lift the trees off the truck, that’s when you get the sore

muscles,” Noonan said. “Usually, we’re just standing around,

chit-chatting, waiting for the 4 o’clock rush.”

Although a few 13-foot trees have already found their owners, Noonan

said the lot still had some 12-footers standing in the back.

“The smallest guys are these table tops,” he said, pointing to

whimsical treelets made from larger trees’ crowns.

While people have seemed to be pretty set on what type of tree they

intend to take home, Noonan said Douglas fir trees have emerged as the

clear favorite this year.

They “are going like hot cakes,” he said. “Although noble [fir trees]

are better trees. They take twice as long to grow.”

For a more wintry look, a snow machine on the lot sprinkles white

powder on some of the trees.

“Nobody but my dad gets to do it,” Noonan said.

THE FAMILY TREE

The family’s own Christmas tree will be different this year, Noonan

said.

While his mother, Rose, usually decorates an 8-foot tree with

“ornaments that don’t match,” his brother’s newborn baby has led to a

tree downsizing for safety reasons. The Noonans have also decided to go

with a green tree instead of a snow covered one to prevent any injuries

to the child, he said.

KEEP ‘EM FRESH

While some of Noonan’s tips on keeping trees fresh -- such as moving

it away from open fireplaces or radiators -- seem like simple common

sense, others sound much more work intensive.

“If people put the tree in a water bowl, we make cuts on the side of

the trunk,” he said. “That absorbs the water better. We tell people to

cut them again after a while, because the sap will seal the cuts.”

If the tree doesn’t get water while it’s standing inside, Noonan

suggests hosing it down in the backyard and keeping it outside for one

more night.