Dunne Christmas Trees

Dunne Christmas Trees was a branch of Dunne Produce Company of West Pensacola. It was owned by Jack Dunne, and managed by he and his sons, Jack, Jr and Tim Dunne. The seasonal business locations were Ninth Avenue at Bayou Boulevard, Ninth Avenue at Airport Boulevard, and Mariner Mall parking lot near Fairfield Drive and Mobile Highway. Three types of trees were often sold; Scotch Pine, Douglas Fir and blue spruce - the latter of which Mr Dunne often referred to as the "Cadillac of Christmas trees".

Usually starting the day after Thanksgiving, the Dunne family employed a few dozen teenagers and young adults to unload trucks, and both display and sell trees to the Pensacola community. Often after a hard day's work, the employees would stand around a barrel fire in an effort to counter the north wind. There they would warm their hands and listen to the elder Dunne greet customers and dispense sage advice such as how to earn a monetary tip by carrying any trees they sold to the customer's automobiles. Impromptu and sometimes lasting friendships developed, warm greetings were exchanged on cold nights, teamwork was perfected, friendly sales competition was engaged in and small paychecks were earned.

Dunne Christmas Trees was a business that lasted only four weeks out of every year, but to many a young person it was a first job, a lesson in the value of a dollar and his first business-level exposure to the masses of the community. Many years later, several former Dunne Produce employees still see each other around town and jokingly recall the barrel fire, cold north wind, warm advice, and the "Cadillac of Christmas trees". In the late 1980's, Dunne Christmas Trees went out of business.