Newspaper Page Text
November 25, 2009
PAGE 9B
^Reporter
Aiken’s last Christmas on the tree farm
BY CAROLYN MARTEL
've been selling advertising
for 20 years and I've met
some really good hearted
people along the way. Tom
Aiken is one of them. In fact
I’d put him on my top 10 list.
For 29 years people from all over
the Middle Georgia area have vis
ited Aiken's Circle A Farm with
their families to pick out
Christmas trees. Tom and his wife
Laverne operate a 182 acre farm
and 10 acres are devoted to noth
ing but raising beautiful
Christmas trees. But Aiken says
it’s time to retire and this will be
his last year running the
Christmas tree farm.
Aiken says he has made a lot of
friends and a lot of great memories
over the years. Some of his fondest
memories have been the times
when school kids came to the farm
to pick out a tree. This year
Hubbard Pre-K and K. B. Sutton
elementary schools will be visiting
Aiken the first week in December
to pick out their Christmas trees.
And you can be sure that Shorty
Brown the Christmas dog and
Jackie the Beagle will be there,
tails wagging, to greet them and
even help guide them to the most
beautiful trees on the farm.
“Every year I am so impressed
with how well behaved the chil
dren are. We have a lot of fun with
them,” said Aiken. “Before I cut a
tree down I have all the children
yell ‘TIMBER!’ and they shout at
the top of their voices with great
est of enthusiasm."
Before Aiken started his
Christmas tree farm, he had a 20
year career in the U.S. Marines.
Aiken has donated hundreds of
trees to military families and some
have even been shipped overseas.
He also served 10 years at
Gordon College as the physical
plant director and 10 years on the
Barnesville Housing Authority.
Although this is Aiken's last year
for operating his Christmas tree
farm, he says he is looking forward
to new projects and challenges.
With his work ethic, he's not one
to sit around and twiddle his
thumbs. I have a feeling that my
74 year-old friend’s greatest days
are still ahead of him.
Tom Aiken is one of the nicest
people you'll ever meet and I will
miss going to his tree farm and
riding around in his golf cart with
Shorty Brown the Christmas dog
and Jackie the Beagle.
So if you're looking for some of
the most beautiful Christmas trees
available, ride on over to Circle A
Farm in Barnesville.
There are over 1,500 trees to
choose from. The farm is located
three miles west of Barnesville
just off Highway 36 on Freeman
Road.
You can visit Aiken's website at
www.circleafarm.gacta.com or give
them a call at 770-775-4184.
Carolyn Martel is the advertising
director for the Monroe County
Reporter.
Tom Aiken gets lots of help picking just the right tree from his constant companions Shorty Brown the
Christmas dog and Jackie the Beagle.
Clean those
carpets with
CLEANCO
Matthew Wilds has 8
years of experience in the
field and opened CLEAN
CO, located in Forsyth,
two years ago. Wilds was
born and raised in
Monroe County and grad
uated from Mary Persons,
where he played football,
baseball and was a mem
ber of Beta Club and
FCA. CLEANCO has a
small team of dedicated
employees - Josh
Mumford, Cody Casler
and Caleb Wilds - who
travel all over middle
Georgia cleaning carpets
and offering other servic
es such as flood/water
damage restoration,
building maintenance
and janitorial contract
ing.
CLEANCO uses a thor
ough seven step steam
cleaning process that is
recommended by all
major carpet manufactur
ers, like Mohawk and
others. When the process
is accompanied with the
business's truckmount
heat exchange extraction
system it allows for maxi
mum results.
Scotchguard protection
also wears off after
awhile and requires a
treatment. "We guarantee
your satisfaction," Wilds
said. "If you are not 100
percent satisfied, we will
come back and solve the
problem for free."
And if that's not enough
incentive to choose
CLEANCO, the business
also has a holiday sale
coming up. If prospective
customers schedule a car
pet cleaning before
Christmas they'll save 30
percent. Afterwards cus
tomers will receive 20
percent off through
January as part of the
New Year's sale. Wilds
said the most enjoyable
part of his job is meeting
new people each day. "I
did not realize until I
started CLEANCO how
small my world was.
Since then, I have
enjoyed meeting and
speaking to so many dif
ferent people with a vari
ety of professions, inter
ests and hobbies," he
said.
For more information
about CLEANCO please
call 1-888-9-CLEAN-6 (1-
888-925-3266).
Thanksgiving Buffet
$
T
1 lam - 4pm
5 pm - 9 pm menu items only
Still only
$12.99
for adults and
$5.99
for children under 12
PetanT
ESTAURAN
Turkey, Ham, Fried Chicken, Baked Fish, Dressing / Giblet Gravy,
Sliced Roast Beef, Veggie Lasagna / Seasoned Green Beans,
Mac & Cheese, Collards, Glazed Carrots / Field Peas with Snaps,
Sweet Potato Souffle / Mashed Potatoes, Bread
Soups: Vegetable, Potato
Dessert: Pecan Pie, Bread Pudding, Banana Pudding,
Peach Cobbler, Red Velvet Cake, Pumpkin Pie,
Sugar-Free Apple and Chocolate Cream Pie
Make your reservations today by calling
(478) 994-5691
Leland’s is located inside the
Holiday Inn, Forsyth 1-75 @ Exit 186