And making it isn't dirt cheap. The bulldozer scoops mounds of the brown stuff onto a conveyer belt, which leads to a green machine that sifts out roots and rocks. Once refined, the top soil is bagged and sold to homeowners and businesses. Wooden polar bears are lined up for sale outside Everest's Helmetta Lawn and Garden Center. Once a concrete dump site, Gerry Everest and James Flood have transformed the 4.7-acre site into the borough's largest business.
People come from all over to buy our dirt.
That's because everybody needs dirt, even Borough Hall. Everest, who narrowly lost a bid for a council seat on Nov. 7, donated top soil earlier this year for renovations at Borough hall, as well as a 12-foot Christmas tree. In addition to providing top soil, the lawn and garden center helps the community in other ways. This month, Santa Claus will pay a visit to cheer local children. And many of the operation's 15 employees are either local teens or retirees.