LEWISVILLE
Roger Hester doesn't care what the weatherman says.
He will have a white Christmas -- at least at his tree lot on Shallowford Road.
Even if he has to make the snow himself.
Hester has been selling trees here for 12 years. This year, for the first time, he's adding snow. Hester has hooked up an air compressor and pressure washer to a narrow metal tower that atomizes the water, resulting in tiny flakes of snow.
"I just wanted to do something different," Hester said.
The snow-making device sits atop a short 8-foot ramp that Hester built for sledding. He started making the snow about 10 p.m. Thursday, and by 8 a.m. yesterday about 2 feet of snow covered the ramp. A surrounding patch of about 25 feet had enough snow to make footprints.
Hester is hoping to make enough snow that it will last through Christmas even if we get a warm spell. He makes the snow during times when the temperature is below the freezing mark. The machine won't make good snow if it gets warmer than that.
Hester, of Walnut Cove, spends most of his time running an asphalt and concrete business. But business is slow in the winter months, so he decided to start selling Christmas trees on the side.
While in Lewisville, he lives in a small trailer on the lot.
Making snow is not a sales gimmick, he says. It's a way to say thank you to his customers and bring some holiday cheer to the children.
"It's just something I wanted to do to pay them back for shopping with me so many years," he said. "If it weren't for little kids running around the tree lot I wouldn't do this anyway."
The snow was a cause for excitement for a couple of classes from Lewisville United Methodist Church's preschool that visited the lot Friday morning.
"I built a snowman," said Gabriel Pitts, 4. "Then I crushed it."
Teachers Becky Bingham and Karen Paul tried to turn the occasion into a teaching experience, showing such things as how icicles are made and the differences in pine needles.
"I think my favorite part was making snowballs," said Bridget Mitchell, 5.
The equipment Hester is using is on loan from his friend Chris Guyer, who runs a Christmas-tree stand at the corner of Robinhood and Peace Haven roads.
Guyer started making snow at his lot last year. This year, he started making snow on Thursday night.
Guyer said he could put more trees on his lot if he didn't have to make way for the snow, but he likes having a place where people can get a little caught up in the season.
"I have such a good time seeing the kids come and play," he said. "It's worth it to me to do it."
pgarber@wsjournal.com
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