Community immediately clears New Trier tree lot again — but this time more are on the way

It’s a new holiday tradition: an opening weekend sellout for the New Trier High School Christmas tree lot. 

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the first days of the tree sale — always the weekend after Thanksgiving — were often the slowest. But no longer. 

For the second straight year, the lot had its biggest opening weekend ever; this time, selling out of 325 Christmas trees, besting the total of 300 from 2020.

This time around, though, the Tri-Ship Club, which operates the fundraising sale, was ready with a backup order. About 50 more trees will arrive and be ready for purchase on Wednesday, Dec. 1, according to club secretary Mike Magner, a senior. 

Club sponsor Scott Fricke said the group tried to acquire “significantly more” but could not because of a reported tree shortage that is nationwide, according to The Washington Post and other media reports.

The Tri-Ship tree sale raises funds for the New Trier Scholarship Fund, specifically to support scholarships for New Trier boys. First organized in 1924, Tri-Ship is one of the high school’s oldest clubs.

The lot reopens on Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the school’s Winnetka campus, 385 Winnetka Ave. It will remain open until trees are gone: 4-7 p.m. on weekdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. 

The club’s canned food drive also runs during the holiday season. Magner said Tri-Ship raised more than $67,000 for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. The program donates the funds to the depository, which then purchases food items from its wishlist. According to Magner, Tri-Ship’s contribution can purchase 200,000 meals and New Trier is the food bank’s largest noncorporate donor. 

“It’s one of my favorite projects,” Magner said of the food drive. “It doesn’t just impact us at New Trier, but the community around us.” 

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