Roy E. Halvorson papers

In 1929, Roy Halvorson began what became in 1934, Halvorson Trees, Inc., one of the largest Christmas tree farms in the United States. By the late 1930's, it enjoyed nationwide business with orders increasing every year. The company produced small, processed, colored Christmas trees.

Christmas tree production began with the tops cut off black spruce trees from the muskeg swamps of Northern Minnesota. Black spruce trees were tall, spindly, and a sickly green color, but the top 3-4 feet were perfect for Christmas trees. The "trees" were cut, bundled, and shipped to Duluth, Minnesota for processing at a plant located at 389-391 Sout Lake Avenue. The tree was dip coated with a fire resistant color sealer (green, silver, white, blue or pink) and placed on a conveyor-system to drying racks. After insertion into a stand filled with "liquid life", a synthetic sap to prolong the life of the tree, it was packed into a cardboard box for cold storage until shipment.

Halvorson Trees used Bombardier tractors In their woods' operations. Halvorson Equipment, Inc. was formed in September 1956, to function as the Bombardier tractor distributor in the north central United States. In the winter of 1959-1960, Halvorson Equipment introduced the first Ski-Doo snowmobiles in the area. The name changed to Bombardier Ski-Doo. At one time, Halvorson Equipment, Inc. was the largest distributor of snowmobiles in the world.

Halvair, located at the Duluth International Airport, was the aviation division of Halvorson Equipment. Established in 1970, it sold and serviced Cessna and Beechcraft airplanes, provided maintenance service for business and private aircraft, an aircraft radio service center, and classroom and flight instruction, as well as charter plane service.