Slow-Fashioned: Wheeler's Christmas Tree Farm
Whether you fall in the camp of decorating for Christmas before or after Thanksgiving, the Christmas tree is a staple decoration, a piece of nature brought indoors for end-of-the-year cheer. We enjoy the lights and ornaments for a short time, but the life of each Christmas tree is much longer than we see.
There are 25 to 30 million live Christmas trees sold in the U.S. every year, according to statistics from the National Christmas Tree Association. Nearly 15,000 farms grow these trees, employing over 100,000 Americans in the process.
Kevin Wheeler and his family first sold trees at Wheeler’s Christmas Tree Farm in Tunnel Hill, Ga., in 2014, but his project started several years before. In fact, it takes about four years for a tree to grow and mature to heights that most people like, so he took his time.
Ten years later, his company has grown – selling more trees every year than the year prior – into a staple for many Tennessee Valley families, even some from beyond.
Much of the work that Wheeler puts in goes unnoticed. Trees must be periodically shaped to give that Christmas Tree figure, and they must be straightened so they aren't leaning when cut. Pesticides are used to kill ant beds that like to pop up at the trunks of the trees.
Watering the trees is left up to nature’s provision. But with dozens of acres dedicated to trees, when he finishes one section of trees, it's about time to put the hedge-trimmers-on-a-backpack contraption he’s built to make the trimming easier back on for another group.
The work he puts in pays off. When the holiday season comes around, it gets busy, particularly at The Treehouse – a small building where customers check out, get a tree stand or pick up some goodies from other small businesses.
And it stays busy because of the experience.
Wheeler and his family wanted to create something for the whole family, so they made hot cocoa. A lot of it.
There’s free cocoa and hot cider for everyone. Santa Claus comes once or twice every season for photos. Next to The Treehouse, there’s a campfire with tree stump chairs where families can roast marshmallows and warm up by the fire. Sometimes, there’s even a hayride around the property when it’s dry.
As far as trees go they have numerous varieties – Carolina Sapphire, Murray Cyprus and Blue Ice varieties, along with Fraser Firs they have to bring in from out of state. They’re all first-come, first-served, but you have to do some work to get the former three. A line of saws hang as you walk to the treehouse for you to grab and cut down your perfect tree. Each tree is tagged with height and price, so you know what you’re dealing with when you bring it into your living room.
And, just like the Griswolds, you drag it back, except Wheeler and his crew put it on the shaker – a piece of equipment that will take the dead branches off the tree – bale it and help you take it to your car.
In the tree business, it’s a never-ending cycle. At some point in the spring, a truck will arrive with hundreds of saplings for a crop four years down the road. The cycle is a long one from start to finish, but the result is well worth the wait.
