Wreath season off to warm start

The wreath-making season is under way, and both large and small operations are busy getting their products to market.
Dugald Kell Sr. of Kelco Industries in Milbridge says his business will be making and selling from 60,000 to 70,000 wreaths, trees and centerpieces this holiday season to customers all over the country. "Seventy percent of our business is supplying berries, bows and other items, and our normal crew [numbers] around 50," says Kell. "But right now it's 140. This time of year all people want is wreaths."
Over the years, Kelco has built up a large clientele and can count on the dependability of many customers who place orders year after year. Kell, age 81, founded Kelco Industries back in 1955 and says he's still having fun at work, but this season is a bit worrisome for him. "It's been warm out, and that's not the best for greens. We had to wait until later to start because we wanted to make sure everything is fresh."
Kelco Industries obtains its brush in St. Francis, up in Aroostook County. "It gets colder quicker there," points out Kell.
"We want the quality to be good, but we're about a week behind this season, so that's exciting and scary," he says. "We've promised our customers that they'll get their wreaths by December 10."
Susan Davis of Lubec has been running a traditional wreath-making business from her home for over 20 years, and she hires three to five workers each season. "One girl, Shelley Jones, has been with me since I started, and my sister Patsy Maker has been doing it for nine years."
Her favorite assistant is three-year-old grandson Matthew Bryant. "He likes to come down and help. Then he'll sit on a pile of tips and say he's tired," chuckles Davis.
The mood is light at Davis' house, and she stresses that one of the reasons the women work there "is because they like to socialize." One of her neighbors, Sharon McGonigal, just enjoys dropping in to help out, and her nickname is 'Santa's Little Helper.'
"I love doing it, even if I can't do as many as I used to," says Davis of her wreath-making. "I used to make 100 a day, but now I make four or five dozen."
Traditionally the season for Davis starts around November 4 and runs three or four weeks, usually until the end of the first week of December. Tips are supplied by different people who come by the house and ask her if she wants to buy them. "This year the tips are pretty nice quality," she reports.
The finished product is sold to Michael Morey in Lubec and Whitney Wreath in Machias. "And we also do a lot of the local churches," says Davis.
David Hatt of Granite Town Farms Ltd. in St. George says the wreath-making industry has almost completely changed since his business began producing them in 1986. "We used to be a big major player, but the money went to pieces, and that was the straw that broke the camel's back."
In addition to the rising value of the Canadian dollar and poor economy, sales became affected by the steps taken for border restrictions in the U.S. after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, as well as the loss of some customers such as Gold Star in Calais. "We used to sell to Home Depot, too, but it's a hard thing unless you have someone to represent you over there."
Granite Town Farms' main business is blueberries, points out Hatt. "But we tried to keep our workers employed after that season, so we started producing wreaths so they could, at least, have a job through Christmas."
That gesture led to the employment of dozens of wreath-makers and often enough product so "we shipped 25 trailer loads a year," recalls Hatt. "We'd make between 75,000 to 100,000 wreaths. We had some local customers, but over 90 percent would be sold across the border."
"Now we employ two girls, one making and one shipping, and we will sell 2,000 to 2,500 wreaths this year," he points out.
"We used to buy 150,000 pounds of tips, but this year it'll probably be 2,500 pounds." Hatt adds. "That's a big difference."
David Whitney, president of Whitney Wreath, reports his business "is right in the thick of things. We're going to have a strong year sales wise." Although he declined to come up with numbers, Whitney was sure "we'll sell more than last year."
In mid-November, Whitney says the Baileyville, Crawford and Presque Isle branches of the business "are chockablock full of people, and 45 to 50 workers are employed in Machias, but we could use 10 or 15 more there. We have another three strong weeks left in the season."
"The dedication and skill of the Downeast worker is the best it's ever been," he notes. "We have great employees."
Warm weather had led to some shedding of evergreen trees, but Whitney says, "As expected, we got good cold nights in a row in early November and that helped. I think the brush is a little bit better this year than last. The color is better, and the smell is there."