WELLWOOD, Man. — The Sleepy Hollow Christmas Tree Farm nestled in the hills northeast of Wellwood, Man., will truly be sleepy now, as retiring tree farmers Lorna and Jim Whyte have strolled through their grove for their last Christmas tree season.
They started their farm in 1993 by planting 10,000 trees.
“That’s 10,000 deep knee bends,” said Lorna.
Their hard work would not yield a crop until 1999 with their first Christmas tree harvest.
“Upon arriving at the farm, our Wal-Mart greeters Quincy and Ben, two lovable labs, would keep the children entertained as Jim gave the lowdown on the trees to Mom and Dad,” said Lorna.“They were also good at retrieving lost mittens.”
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Jim often performed search and rescue in the grove when people would get their vehicles stuck.
Their 1972 four-by-four was also called into action. Jim recalled searching for one young family as darkness fell. He found a couple wandering around looking for that perfect tree after having been there since the afternoon, with their baby wrapped up in the vehicle’s back seat.
“To make things worse, I don’t think they had a tree when they finally did leave,” he said.
One year, families from CFB Shilo came here to get their trees. Some had just returned from Afghanistan and likely took home warm memories that day, said Jim.
Lorna recalled one family of 13 arriving with a great-grandmother, grandparents, parents and children.
“We have always looked forward to their return every year and this year, 2011, there was nine of them. They make it a real family day. After cutting their trees, then they head to the Santa parade in Neepawa,” she said.
For those who couldn’t make it up the hill to the grove, Jim would load them into the back of his truck, haul them to the trees and return for them later.
“They would be singing and laughing,” said Lorna.
Back at the house, a fire pit, hot chocolate and coffee would help take the chill off.
With the Whytes’ retirement, the Christmas tree lot will likely be cleared to make way for the new owners’ potato crop.
