To honor his late father and in support of the alewife fish ladder in Damariscotta Mills, Linwood Palmer III, is selling Christmas trees at his home in Nobleboro. For each tree and/or wreath he sells through his business, Linwood Palmer Christmas Trees, he will donate $1 to support the restoration of the fish ladder.
A former Nobleboro selectman, Palmer recognized the fish ladder’s economic importance to area residents.
“I’m hoping that the building of the fish ladder will continue to be a resource for people in the area for years to come,” he said.
Palmer recalled how citizens worked at the ladder. He said it provided food and employment for many folks, adding that for many years, it replaced a food stamp program that did not exist.
The dedication also calls attention to the many years his father, Linwood Palmer, Jr., worked in the service of state government as a senator and representative. He was a bank director for First National (The First) in Damariscotta and worked on his Christmas tree farming business. His father died July 24 this year.
“He was quite an active guy,” Palmer said.
At one time, Palmer’s father was the largest Christmas tree grower in Maine, he said. According to Palmer, his father planted his first Christmas tree field in Nobleboro 53 years ago. Over a period of several years, he planted roughly 60,000 balsam fir trees with the help of Fred Hatch.
Palmer said that a well-known state forester at the time, Rob Umberger, supervised this operation. They originally bought the trees from Fryeburg Nurseries in Fryeburg. He said his father then purchased a farm on the West Neck Rd. owned by the Lee family. His father planted 15,000 additional trees there and moved on to Camp Kieve to expand his Christmas tree enterprise.
“We proudly dedicate this year’s trees to Linwood Palmer, Jr. and to the fish ladder at Damariscotta Mills,” Palmer said. “We thank you, Dad, for all the love you gave to your family and friends, town politics, state politics; and in turn, gave every family in this area pleasant memories of your presence.”
Palmer now grows the balsam fir trees in Dover-Foxcroft. He said the balsam fir is a better quality tree.
“The smell goes all through the house and is very pleasant,” he said.
Other business people have invested in other faster-growing trees to sell during the Christmas season. Palmer said that a lot of businesses like the Scotch pine, corn color fir and the Frazier fir, because these trees grow faster. The Frazier fir looks a lot like the balsam fir, but it lacks the pleasant smell, he said.
“I’m trying to keep up the family tradition,” he said.
Palmer sells trees and wreaths at his home at 110 Borland Hill Rd. in Nobleboro.
