THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, December 8, 1994 TAG: 9412080155
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 14 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Long : 169 lines
CHOPPING DOWN THE family Christmas tree and hauling it home from the woods - much like Grandpa used to do - is becoming more and more a holiday tradition.
Brian Long, an Air Force sergeant stationed at Langley Air Force Base, wouldn't have it any other way. An Oregon native, Long insists on a fresh-cut tree for his family.
``My husband is really picky about cutting his own Christmas tree,'' Luann Long said. ``He won't go buy one'' already cut.
The day after Thanksgiving, the Longs drove from the Peninsula with their four children to pick out the perfect tree at Ehrenzeller Tree Farm Inc., just as they had done last year.
In the Long household, tradition includes chopping down their tree the day after Thanksgiving. This year, they took it home and decorated it that day.
The children, ranging from 8 months to 9 years, had a ball at Ehrenzeller, one of several area choose-and-cut tree farms but the only one they found in the Yellow Pages on the Peninsula, Long said.
Customers come from all over Hampton Roads to two tree farms run by Bret and Laura Ehrenzeller. The enterprise was started about 17 years ago by Bret's father, Chet Ehrenzeller of Virginia Beach, to finance his children's college educations. Each of the five siblings worked trimming trees and mowing grass in the summer and cutting and selling the trees at Christmas.
``He decided the kids needed to learn the work ethic,'' Laura Ehrenzeller said.
Three years ago, she and her husband - the oldest sibling - took over the operation. The others were tired of tending trees and were pursuing other careers, their educations paid for by the tree farms. The youngest, the only daughter, is a senior at the University of Richmond.
Bret and Laura Ehrenzeller, however, enjoy the farm operation.
``We don't deal with too many negatives,'' she said. ``People come out to the farm for a farm experience, and they're totally excited.''
Some want to recapture the past.
``We don't sell trees per se,'' she said. ``We sell an experience.''
Other tree farms have opened in western Tidewater in recent years, but the Ehrenzellers say they aren't worried about competition. They say there's plenty of demand.
``It's a big market,'' Laura Ehrenzeller said.
The Ehrenzellers - who also sell wreaths and roping - have added some arts-and-crafts items and antiques at their Old Somerton Road farm this year. On weekends, they offer hay rides on a trailer pulled by a tractor.
They enjoy the simple, old-fashioned atmosphere, Laura Ehrenzeller said.
``We haven't really gotten into frills.''
But Clay Hill Christmas Tree Farm has.
The newest choose-and-cut tree farm, on Clay Hill Road in southern Suffolk, is something like a Christmas carnival for children. On weekends, there are games and rides and goodies to eat, as well as trees to cut.
Buddy and Diana Wirt planted the trees nine years ago, tending them until they were ready to sell. And while they waited for them to grow tall enough, they prepared for the children's activities.
Buddy Wirt took two years to build a Christmas choo-choo, a three-car train that runs on wheels around the field of trees and back to the train station, a converted grain silo where refreshments are served.
Anyone who buys a tree gets a free train ride and an invitation to sip a cup of hot chocolate or cider and munch on cookies and candy canes. There's also a small petting zoo - a fenced-in area with piglets and baby goats to delight the children. And there are pony rides and carnival games.
``We like kids,'' said Diana Wirt, who manages the farm and cares for the couple's two young children, Buddy, 6, and Wendy, 4. ``There was nothing for them to do at Christmas, so we decided to do this.''
The activities provide a different atmosphere from other tree farms.
``We're geared more to the children,'' said Buddy Wirt, who works at Suffolk Sheet Metal.
``But if your children are happy,'' said his wife, who grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Chesapeake, ``the adults are happy.''
The train is a favorite attraction for the youngsters, who sit inside on small, plastic chairs. The ``caboose'' is available for older children or parents who want to tag along and watch their children enjoying themselves.
``You'd be surprised at the grandparents who get on that train and act like little kids,'' Buddy Wirt said.
The Wirts had not planned to start selling trees until this Christmas, but word spread last year after a story appeared in The Sun and the family drove the train in the Suffolk Christmas parade.
This year, though, they are in full gear, with plans to expand next year.
The children love the carnival games, Buddy Wirt said. He also had a ``Wheel of Fortune'' game that he was finishing for the adults, who could win a free tree, some mistletoe or artificial snow.
Business is brisk on weekends, when the amusements are in full swing, the Wirts said. But an occasional shopper stops by on weekdays as well.
On a recent afternoon, Lynn Ward came to Clay Hill to pick out a 7-foot tree for her house in Suffolk's Whaleyville section.
``Last year, the tree we got was so dry the needles fell off,'' she said. ``So we decided to get a fresh-cut tree.''
She pushed her infant son's stroller along the path beside the trees, as her 4-year-old daughter, Jennifer, followed. They picked out a tree, then planned to return on the weekend for their train ride and games.
A 15-foot tin soldier marks the entrance to the tree farm. The homemade sentinel directs customers down the drive toward the excitement.
``I made him one Sunday afternoon,'' Buddy Wirt said.
He used two 55-gallon oil drums for the legs, a 275-gallon well tank for the body and stove pipes for the head.
``It wasn't a planned thing. I had to get a crane and a trailer to move him because he was so heavy. Naturally, I didn't build him out there.''
The Wirts believe all the effort that goes into tending the trees and providing entertainment is worthwhile.
``All the work and everything, I wouldn't trade it,'' Diana Wirt said. ``I enjoy it. I even enjoy cutting the grass.''
Pine Ridge Nursery Christmas Tree Farm, owned by Bobby and Joyce Keen, also has fields of choose-and-cut trees for that old-time Christmas experience.
``We have fat ones, pretty ones, ugly ones,'' said Joyce Keen, who manages the farm on Lummis Road. ``We have all types.''
The Keens have 20 acres of white pines and red cedars they have grown and some imported firs. They have operated the farm for five years.
``Some people just like to go out and roam around and pick their tree out and cut it down themselves,'' Joyce Keen said. ``Some just want to come get a tree and go home, that's all.''
Her husband, a contractor, and their daughter and son-in-law help on weekends, the busiest times for sales.
``Usually, a family likes to come together,'' said Joyce Keen, who also makes wreaths and window decorations.
And on weekends, there are hay rides and refreshments - hot chocolate, cider and cookies.
``We have a lot of fun out here,'' Joyce Keen said.
And school groups come out occasionally.
``Some of those kids have never been on a farm before,'' she said.
The Keens decided to grow Christmas trees in part to recreate their experiences from childhood.
``We grew up in (North) Carolina,'' Bobby Keen said. ``We would always go out in the woods and cut down a tree. That's the way we always did it.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
CUTTING YOUR OWN
Cover and inside photos by Michael Kestner
Staff photo by MICHAEL KESTNER
Joyce Keen makes Christmas wreaths at Pine Ridge Nursery Christmas
tree farm on Lummis Road. She manages the business.
Above: The Longs, Brian, Luann and their children, choose a
Christmas tree at Ehrenzeller's tree farm in Suffolk. The Long
family's tradition is to chop down their tree the day after
Thanksgiving. At left: Brian Long and three of his children head
around the corner of the old house on the tree farm. The enterprise,
now run by Bret and Laura Ehrenzeller, was started about 17 years
ago. ``We don't sell trees per se,'' says Laura Ehrenzeller. ``We
sell an experience.''
Far left: Wendy Wirt pets piglets at Clay Hill's petting zoo, new
this year. There are also pony rides and carnival games. ``We like
kids,'' says Diana Wirt, who manages the farm. Left: This 15-foot
tin soldier points the way to the Clay Hill Christmas Tree Farm.
Left: Wendy Wirt, 4, admires the decorations in the Christmas shop
at Clay Hill, Suffolk's newest choose-and-cut tree farm. Peeking
through the door is her brother, 6-year-old Buddy. Their parents,
Buddy and Diana Wirt, planted the trees nine years ago. Below: Wendy
and Buddy check out the farm's three-car train that runs around the
field of trees.
TREE FARMS
[Graphic not available for enhancing]
[For a complete list of tree farms, addresses, hours of operation
and telephone numbers, see microfilm for this date.]
KEYWORDS: CHRISTMAS TREES by CNB