How Christmas trees became local scouts' go

For hundreds of community members in the Grand Valley, the holidays begin in earnest with a trip to a seasonal lot, where they can buy a live Christmas tree. And when they do, they tend to buy the trees from local boy scouts.

Four BSA Scout troops — the organization formerly known as Boy Scouts — have set up three such lots this year, following a tradition that for some dates back years, and for others, decades.

Asked why the seasonal sales were such a popular choice of fundraiser, scouts said the setups were more engaging and more fun than conventional methods like door-to-door sales and gift card offers.

“It’s more fun in general, because you get to socialize,” said Jacob Gustafson, a scout helping to load up trees at a lot near Grand Junction’s American Furniture Warehouse run by BSA