Our History

In 1922 John and Rose Treml moved from the Marshfield area to Butternut, where they purchased land and started a dairy farm. Their son, Robert, was one of six children and was born in the farmhouse. After John’s passing in 1940, Robert stayed on the farm to help his mother, Rose, run the operation until her passing in 1945. At that time, Robert took over the farm with help from his wife, Mavis, they became the Second Treml generation at the farm.

In 1959 Robert and other dairy farmers faced difficult times during a period of low farm prices. The farm sat idle for two years while Robert focused on his other career in carpentry.

In August 1961, the farm was struck by a tornado. Thankfully, no one was injured, but the twister destroyed the barn and garage. Robert was only able to salvage a small part of the original barn and decided in 1963 to fill the property where cattle once grazed with balsam trees. And just like that, the Dairy Farm became a Christmas Tree Farm!

Robert and his wife Mavis spent the next ten years cultivating balsam seedlings into beautiful Christmas Trees. Each year they would take seedlings they had planted in beds near their home and transplant them into the fields to continue to grow. New seedlings would be planted in the beds to be moved to the fields the following year.  This process allowed them to establish a steady supply of Christmas trees to harvest and sell year after year. They turned about 40 acres of his former dairy farm into balsam tree fields.

In 1973 Robert and Mavis began selling their trees. Together they built a large wholesale business, selling trees to suppliers who took them as far as Florida. They were committed to their retail customers too, Robert told the story of once selling the tree he had picked out for his own home to a customer before he could get it in the house! Each year they planted new trees where last years trees were harvested and grew their new business.

Mavis passed away in 1983, but Robert continued the operation with help from his son Michael (Mike) and his family. In 1992 he passed the operation on to Mike and his wife, Marge, marking the beginning of the third generation of Treml’s on the farm and the second generation of Christmas tree growers. The farm continued to grow and thrive. Mike and Marge enjoyed the hard work of planting in the spring and tending to the trees throughout the summer. They produced large wholesale orders, while also building a thriving retail business in the fall leading up to Christmas.

During this time, Mike made sure to pass his extensive knowledge of Christmas tree growing to his son, Jason. The two could often be found in the fields during the summer, shearing trees, often after working their full-time jobs during the day. Marge spent many of her days out in the fields working to make sure each tree turned out just right, and making wreaths to sell with the trees. 

 They were fortunate to have a large group of family and friends who helped with wholesale order. During the retail season they were often open 7 days a week!

After Mike’s passing in 2015, Marge and Jason worked hard to keep the tree farm operating. Jason learned the ins and outs of running the business and began involving his wife and son in the operation.

Marge so enjoyed the farm, and especially, visiting with valued customers who had become friends over the years. In 2020 however, she decided that it was time to pass the torch. After moving off the farm in the spring of 2021, Jason and his wife, Jamie, moved in and took over, marking the beginning of the fourth generation of Treml’s on the farm.  Although Marge is no longer living on the farm, you’ll still see her occasionally during the retail season!

Jason and Jamie both work full-time outside the farm and therefore decided to scale back their wholesale orders a bit and focus most of their attention on the retail business. They want to make sure that people and families who have made it a tradition of visiting the farm to pick out their Christmas tree can continue to do so. Along the way, they’ve also welcomed many new customers and families into the tradition.

 While the work of planting in the spring and tending to the trees throughout the summer continues, it’s the day after Thanksgiving when retail sales begin, that the farm really comes to life. Although the driveway and parking area are quite large, it’s not uncommon to look outside and find it filled with vehicles, with some even parked along the road. It's certainly an exciting time! 

 They find themselves incredibly fortunate to have dedicated family and friends that are willing to help out during this busy time, including their son Chase. He represents the fifth generation Treml at the farm. While Jason and Jamie don’t plan on going anywhere anytime soon, Chase will hopefully carry on the family tradition someday!

While family has certainly played an integral role in this farm, there have been some greatly relied on friends and extended family that we will always cherish. During some difficult family challenges and throughout the extremely busy retail season, these special people have stepped in to keep things running smoothly. We are extremely thankful for them.

The Treml family also thanks our customers. We hope to continue being a part of your family’s tradition of coming to the farm to pick out your Christmas tree, and we warmly welcome anyone looking to start a tradition of your own. Over the years, our customers have become so much more than customers. You've become friends, and we truly appreciate each and every one of you.

We wish you a blessed and safe Christmas season!