December 10, 2012 - The late Sonny Rollins of Wytopitlock loved Christmas, and being outdoors. In 1980, he created a business that enabled him to spend time doing something he enjoyed and at the same time bring the spirit of Christmas to others - Santa Claus Hill. 

Today Sonny's wife Yvonne and their children maintain the family tradition of providing fresh Christmas trees and other holiday decorations for people far and wide. Downeast magazine ran an article about Santa Claus Hill in 2000.

Located at 2 Santa Claus Lane in Wytopitlock, Santa Claus Hill has 75 acres of trees, mostly balsam fir. Some prefer to cut their own tree, bringing back memories of searching the woods for that perfect tree in days gone by. Others choose a tree that's already cut. The trees are also sold wholesale. For example, Lincoln's Boy Scout troup purchases the trees they sell in the Lincoln area from Santa Claus Hill. For those who like to think ahead, Christmas trees can also be bought in advance and tagged for later cutting. 

In the gift shop, the delicious scents of hot chocolate and cider are woven with the smell of balsam boughs, tempting shoppers to linger and look over the holiday crafts on display. Precut trees are stacked next to the garage, already shaken and tied. Inside, wreaths and kissing balls hang in abundance. Wreaths are made by Sonny and Yvonne's daughter, Patty Harris of Lee, and Irene Malone of Bangor. Kissing balls are made by Larry Malone.

Something new this year is a Facebook page, which encourages people to share photos of Santa Claus Hill trees after they've been decorated.

All these holiday decorations don't just magically appear at Christmas time. The family works all year round to plant and care for the trees growing at Santa Claus Hill. Each tree has to be trimmed yearly, and guarded against insect damage. New trees are planted each year. Carl Rollins says seedlings pulled up in the woods nearby grow better than nursery stock. He also grows some Colorado blue spruce and white spruce (also known as cat spruce, better as an outdoor Christmas tree). The trees are sold in various sizes, and grow for 10 to 12 years before they are ready for cutting.

If you feel like taking a road trip this Christmas, Santa Claus Hill is only 34 miles north of Lincoln on Route 2a. Watch for the sign on your right. Until you can get there yourself, CLICK HERE for a photo slideshow.

In the video below, Irene Malone fashions a beautiful Christmas wreath, and Christmas trees are shaken and put through the baler. - video by Lee Rand

- Story by Connie Rand

When young people reach out and care for the less fortunate in their community, that speaks volumes. Around this time of year (Thanksgiving and Christmas) there is a sense of giving and holiday spirit in the air. Venture Crew 5064 and the small-town community of Lincoln felt that sense of generosity this past weekend on November 17th when the Crew held their first annual food drive in front of Steaks 'n Stuff.

Reaching out to lend a hand, the community responded and helped the Venturers raise over $300 and many nonperishable items for the local food cupboard. The Crew would like to formally thank the community for showing their generosity and making this food drive a huge success. We plan to hold a similar food drive in December in hopes of making Christmas a little brighter for families in need.

Interested in joining the Crew and becoming a member of a Boy Scouts of America sponsored coed group full of adventure for young people ages 14-21? Contact Angela Stanley at 794-2518.

Presenting a check in the amount of $390.44 to Linda Tash of the Lincoln Regional Food Cupboard are members of Venture Crew 5064, Tori Jordan, Riley Bartash, Elise Arnold, and Bailee Bartash-absent when photo was taken are members Cole Harper, Nick Thornton, Jon Martin, Dani Macalino, and Luke Stanley.

Northern Penobscot Tech Region III would like to recognize the following students for first quarter perfect attendance, student of the quarter and receiving ARCH cards.
Perfect attendance is not an easy accomplishment. It takes a high level of commitment to career education and we applaud the following students for accomplishing perfect attendance.

Front Row L to R: Abigail McLaughlin, Taylor Shorey, Maggie LaFrieniere, Kassandra Batchelder, Erica Walsh, Jessica Beaulieu and Shaelyn Jones
Second Row L to R: Bridget Knights, Morgan Russell, Eugene Niles, Tyler Doyle, Dylan LeClair and Eric Batchelder
Third Row L to R: Benjamin Ferland, Austin Thibodeau, Matthew Grant, David Newbert, Ryan O’Hara, Aaron Beaumont and Jonathan Chiasson

Front Row L to R: Eric Gelfuso, Erika Anderson, Samantha Badia, James Smith, Ashley Gray and Christian McKinnon
Second Row L to R: Sutton Crosby, Shane York, Nathanael Upcott, Eric Shaw, Robert Payne, Dakotah Glidden, Isaiah Oliver and James Morrison
Third Row L to R: Harley McLaughlin, Fred Shaw, Regan Sereyko, Peter Pelletier, Tyler Dewley, Michael Harrison, Matthew Moon and Jason Smith

Front Row L to R: Theresa Jacobs, Kara LaPorte, Kate-Lynn Michaud, Rielly Struck, Clairice Gordon and Theresa Clifford
Second Row L to R: Richard Johnson, Gregory Smart, Jacob Albert, Christopher Hanson, Heather Braley and Renee Stratton
Third Row L to R: Tyler Windsor, Michael LaVoie Mark Houde, Kyle McDonough, Andrew Tash, Michael Clampitt, Cody Hartford, Timothy Glidden and Bret Libby

Front Row L to R: Ashley Audibert, Danae Thompson, Kayla Dube and Rachael Vanadestine
Second Row L to R: Rebecca Nason, Tyler MacMaster, Zach Savage, Austin Clogston, Kacie McLaughlin, Natasha Jipson, Cody Jordan, Isaiah Kafka and Desirae LaGasse
Third Row L to R: Zack Wagner, Warren Mann, Taylor Cole, Harley McLaughlin , Nicholas Jordan, Wyatt McCarthy and Justin Shaw

Perfect attendance drawing winners are Austin Thibodeau, Tyler Windsor, Nicholas Jordan and Matthew Moon.

The following students were chosen by their instructors to receive student of the quarter awards:

Region III has core values of Accountability, Respect, Commitment to Success, and Honesty & Integrity. ARCH cards are given to students who exemplify these values. Congratulations to the following students:
Accountability: Lisa Candage, Sutton Crosby, Shawn Cyr, Tyler Dewley, Benjamin Ferland, Desirae LaGasse, and Jacob Powers.
Respect: Matt Grant, Cameron Harding, and Desirae LaGasse.
Commitment to Success: Jessica Beaulieu, Lisa Candage, Jonathan Chiasson, Taylor Cole, Shawn Cyr, Tyler Dewley, Benjamin Ferland, Shaelyn Jones, Karan Jordan, Desirae LaGasse, Brooke Lancaster, Kacie McLaughlin, Thomas Morris, Brent Pelkey, Jacob Powers, Renzo Ramirez, Dylan Rideout, James Smith, and Richard Stowell.
Honesty & Integrity: Shawn Cyr, and Noel Fiske-Wilson.
ARCH card drawing winners:

Left to Right: Benjamin Ferland, Desirae LaGasse, Shawn Cyr and Sutton Crosby

A sincere thank you to the following area businesses for donating prizes for these drawings: Coffee Pot Café, Daigle Oil Company, Dysart's, JJs Pizza, McDonald's, Subway, Tim Horton's, Why Not Stop and Wing Wah.

Left to right: Jon Marquis and Jessica Marquis of Your Family Worship Center in Millinocket, with Toys for Tots Coordinator Sonny Goodwin

If your child's school did not send a letter from the Marine Toys for Tots program, all children from birth to age 16 are covered if you have need this Christmas (one application per family - only the parents or legal guardian where the children live).

Toys for Tots supplies Howland, Seboeis, Passadumkeag, Maxfield, Lowell, Burlington, Enfield, West Enfield, Grand Falls, Lincoln, Millinocket, East Millinocket, Medway, Chester, Mattawamkeag, Woodville, Springfield, Prentiss, Topsfield, Webster Plantation, Lagrange, Greenbush, Carroll, Kingman, Lee, Macwahoc and Winn.

The application deadline is December 4th at 5 pm. Call 794-3372 or 794-3455 to apply, and you will be called after December 10th, so please be patient and give an accurate phone number to reach you. You will be assigned a dstributor, and you will work with them to get your gifts. Two open days will be the last application days and applications will be filled from what is left on December 16-17 from 9 am to 8 pm. at the Lincoln Subway office, then Toys for Tots will close for clean up for this year. If your child has a legal disability please make sure the person taking your application knows this and what it is, which will help fill your gifts better. All applications are private.

If you have questions, please call 794-3455. 

Just a few of the toys collected by Toys for Tots!