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A Christmas Tradition

Kevin Howe/stringer photo

Ed Gallio, owner of the Gallio Family Christmas Tree lot, loads a tree for his customer Nick Davis. The Christmas Tree lot is located in front of the St Patrick's Catholic Church at 4522 S Manhattan Ave in Tampa

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 8, 2007

Updated: 12/06/2007 06:23 pm

SOUTH TAMPA - Ed Gallio was shopping for a Christmas tree in the early 1990s when he pulled his car into a lot on South Manhattan Avenue.

The sales attendant was working alone, and he was busy.

"I said, 'Let me help you out,'" Gallio recalled. "It was kind of fun."

Gallio worked at the lot part time for the next two years. He said he took over the business 14 years ago when the proprietor ran into some problems.

Gallio Family Christmas Trees has been a seasonal fixture in front of St. Patrick Catholic Church ever since.

Gallio gets help from his wife, Donna, and their children, Jeremy, 21, Melodie, 24, Brandi, 17, and Caitlyn, 16. Another son, Nick, lives in California.

"It's a family thing," said Ed Gallio, who coaches the girls' softball team at Robinson High School. "It's nice to be together this time of year."

"Sometimes," Jeremy Gallio said, "it feels like 'Survivor.'"

When he took over the lot, Ed Gallio didn't have much equipment other than a chain saw and tarp and some lumber to shelter the trees.

Now the fenced lot is strung with colored lights and ample overhead lighting. There's a white tent that doubles as a sales office and lounge area, including satellite television for slow periods and football games.

"We play a lot of cards, too," Ed Gallio said.

Longtime pal Wally Beamer and a few other friends help. Regular customers and neighbors from West Bay Court Avenue stop by with food.

The men take turns with overnight shifts in a small travel-trailer parked on the lot. Boozer the boxer, Bella the chocolate Labrador and Missy the border collie also share guard duty.

"We've never had a problem with somebody trying to steal a tree, and we don't want to start," Jeremy Gallio said.

Over the years, the Gallios have accumulated many stories on the lot:

•A dozing volunteer once nearly melted his shoes while warming his feet near a fire barrel during one cold snap.

•Live squirrels and dead mice have dropped out of the bundled Christmas trees, which arrive daily from tree farms in Oregon, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.

•Some people driving up in fancy cars aggressively try to barter down the price; others who appear less fortunate humbly count out pocket change to buy a tree, which range from about $35 to $100.

"We've seen it all," Ed Gallio said.

He donates 10 trees to St. Patrick for the church to distribute to needy families, and also supplies a free tree to Robinson.

"They move a lot of trees because Ed is involved in the community," said John Sansone, owner of Great Lakes Christmas Tree Farms in Tampa, Gallio's wholesaler.

"He's really built up a following over the years," Sansone said. "His kids are dolls; they put their heart and soul into the business."

The Gallio lot has a variety of trees, including Douglas, Fraser, noble and grand firs, Scotch, blue and white pines, and Black Hills spruce. The family also is selling poinsettias this year for the first time.

Sansone said small proprietors like Gallio are disappearing as big companies bid up rents on prime locations to sell trees. Fireworks companies, for example, grab good corners and sell trees in advance of pushing pyrotechnics for New Year's Eve.

But Gallio and Sansone each said their annual sales have increased with the population.

Last year, Americans spent about $1.2 billion on nearly 29 million live Christmas trees, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. The nation spent $693 million on 9.3 million artificial trees.

"People who buy artificial trees, they come back," Gallio said. "They miss the smell. It's just not a real tree."

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Gallio Family Christmas Trees

WHERE: 4520 S. Manhattan Ave.

WHEN: 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. until late weekends

Reporter Mark Holan can be reached at (813) 835-2102 or mholan@tampatrib.com.

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