SAN MARTIN
– There’s no way Jesse Palmerin would find the perfect Christmas
tree Friday.
But then again, how could he?
Many arrived at the Battaglia Christmas Tree Farm, 13580 Murphy
Ave., and left with smiles on their faces and Christmas trees in
the back of their trucks or on top of their cars. But it was
different for Palmerin.
SAN MARTIN – There’s no way Jesse Palmerin would find the perfect Christmas tree Friday.
But then again, how could he?
Many arrived at the Battaglia Christmas Tree Farm, 13580 Murphy Ave., and left with smiles on their faces and Christmas trees in the back of their trucks or on top of their cars. But it was different for Palmerin.
He was looking for more than just a Christmas tree. He was looking something that would start a new tradition in his home; something that would ignite the spirit of Christmas in his young daughter.
He was looking for the absolute perfect tree.
“It’s gonna be hard,” said the Watsonville resident as he carried his daughter Stephanie, 1, with his nephew Saul, 10, following. “I’m looking for something a little round at the bottom … kind of a small one.”
Growing up in Watsonville, Palmerin celebrated many Christmas holidays with his family, but they never had a real Christmas tree. Jesse came to Battaglia in hopes of bringing home a tree that would change the way his family thinks about the holiday.
“It’s a family reunion, just like everyone else,” Palmerin said of Christmas. “I’m hoping we can (go out and get a real tree) and make it a family trip.”
Palmerin also wanted to get his daughter excited about the holiday.
“I want to get her into the tradition of Christmas and get her a real tree,” he said.
This will be Stephanie’s second Christmas, but she was just a few months old for her last one and wasn’t nearly as aware as she is now. As she walked around the tree farm Friday, she was able to recognize some of the signs of the season. As the group passed one of the many Christmas signs at the tree farm, Stephanie pointed at a picture of Santa Claus and began to mumble with a smile on her face.
“It beats me (what she’s saying),” Palmerin laughed. “I can’t understand her.”
Stephanie spent most of the day in Palmerin’s arms, but whenever she was let down to walk around, she started walking straight toward Christmas trees. She would quickly pick a tree and grab one of its limbs and jabber away.
“It looks like she’s an expert now,” he said.
As the sun slowly began to set at Battaglia’s 20-acre Christmas tree site, Palmerin had looked over what seemed like every tree on the lot and still had not seen the perfect one.
He looked at douglas, cypress, grand and noble trees from the Battaglia farm and from their other farms in Oregon. He looked at
five-, six- and seven-foot trees, cut and uncut. He looked at trees that had been flocked to look like they had been snowed on.
Some of the trees had a hole here or there, some were too bare, some were so full he didn’t think they could hang ornaments from them. Some even appeared to be great Christmas trees, but none of them was perfect enough.
“It’s my first time, too,” he said. “This is tough.”
This year also is a first for Battaglia Ranch, which moved to San Martin three years ago. This is the first year Battaglia, which is owned by brothers Paul and Ed Battaglia, will sell a whole crop of trees grown at the lot. All the trees had been imported from Oregon for the last two years.
The ranch offers much more than just Christmas trees – a trip to Battaglia is an event. There is a Christmas tree maze, a gift shop, an area to meet Santa Claus and the farm offers rides around the farm on its train – an old diesel tractor converted into a locomotive with two passenger cars that have Christmas music playing in the background.
“It’s neat to see the kids,” Paul Battaglia said. “It warms my heart.”
