The "All Good Things Must Come To An End!" Story

It was an ordinary day.  Read some disturbing news in the paper and just had to call my friend Jere and tell him about it.  This story all started back in 1959 when Jere and I were 10th grade students at Manheim Township High School in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  My parents wanted me to go to college so I took Algebra and Latin; stuff you use for the rest of your life, right!  Jere took the more conventional courses so he got to meet all the good looking girls and eventually married one of them.  Anyway, when we entered 11th grade we had a new shop teacher, Mr. Lemon, who Jere had for metal shop.  

Mr. R. Dean Lemon, Industrial Arts Teacher.
Taken from my 1962 High School Yearbook.

As life went on we both graduated; me going to Millersville State Teachers College (yep, I made it) and Jere entered the Navy.  After three years I began teaching shop in a nearby school district (they needed shop teachers so bad I didn't have to graduate, but I finished in the following summer) and Jere came home and entered Millersville.  The following year I began teaching at Manheim Township H.S. and eventually Jere began teaching with me.  We were both shop teachers (by now known as Industrial Arts teachers) and one of our co-workers was Mr. Lemon.  We were now able to call him Dean, his first name.  Over the next couple decades we had a great time teaching high school students in the Industrial Department.  But, Mr. Dean Lemon also had a second job which he began in 1959 when we were in 10th grade.  He opened a Christmas Tree stand with another shop teacher, Nevin Frantz.  All started when Dean wanted to buy a tree for himself and the line was so long he decided he could sell trees and make a few extra dollars to supplement his meager teacher's salary.  He asked his friend Nevin if he was interested and in 1959 they ordered 100 trees from a wholesaler for $1.50 each and sold them for $6.00 each.  They opened their stand along the Lititz Pike near Neffsville, PA.  Wasn't long before they outgrew the location and moved nearby to Brook Lawn Farm Market which had a large farmer's retail operation along Lititz Pike during the summer.  During the winter months the stand was empty so Dean rented the place and by now was on his own, since Nevin had moved from the area.  He called it Dean's Trees.  

View from Dean's Herndon tree farm
overlooking the Susquehanna River.

He opened the week-end after Thanks- giving and employed close to a dozen people who worked most every evening as well as weekends.  All three of my children worked for Dean while they were in high school at Manheim Township selling trees and loading them into and onto customers vehicles.  Many of the other shop teachers as well as high school students and his own children worked for Dean.  By now Dean was not only selling trees, but growing and wholesaling them.  He would sell 1,000 to 1,500 eery year between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  He also began growing his own trees for sale and to wholesale on his family's farm in Herndon, Northumberland County, PA.   Well, the disturbing news in the newspaper today was that Dean, finally, after 59 years, had to call it quits.  

Retired I.A. teachers at Dean's tree farm.  Front is Jeff,
Jere, Dean and LDub.  Rear is Barry, Buzz and Hal.

His 86 years of age, macular degenera- tion and two artificial hips has slowed him down somewhat.  Dean's Trees was a well-known tree stand in Lancaster County with loyal customers from as far away as Delaware, New York and Maryland.  Though he no longer will be selling trees at his tree stand, he will still wholesale trees from his tree farm.  He still has over 10,000 trees that he will have to sell.  A few years ago Dean hosted the Industrial Arts department retirees at his  tree farm in Herndon.  We had a great time with a gorgeous view of his tree farm overlooking the mighty Susquehanna River.  Memories from times past filled the air up on that tree farm that afternoon.  Memories that will never be forgotten.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.