12/25/2019
A message from Mark and Lynn: We wish you a Merry Christmas! And we want to Thank You for your support all these years. We can't begin to show our appreciation for the wonderful memories we have from the farm and meeting all of you.
Owning a Christmas tree farm was Mark's dream when he came to NJ in 1984. He is a second generation Christmas tree grower and had worked in VA prior to coming to NJ, where he grew Christmas trees on leased property for the wholesale market, just like his father did in NC. But growing trees in his backyard was his ultimate goal. Eventually he bought the original 10 acres in 1992 and the first trees were planted in 1993. Once he bought the farm, he decided to sell Christmas trees directly to the public. So, the first year of sales was 2001, with no advertising - just a sign at the end of the driveway. The official kickoff season was in 2002. In 2005, we bought the 26 acres next door so we could expand the farm. We had some lean years where we were monitoring existing inventory while those new fields were getting established. Hence we had some early closures a couple of years to ensure sufficient inventory for our loyal customer base. It wasn't easy but we appreciated everyone's patience and understanding.
We have had many laughs and fun watching customers return year after year. Mark especially enjoyed watching young families come and eventually see those same families grow with grandchildren. (Lynn missed a lot of the fun as she was inside with the apple cider, phones, etc.) We've enjoyed the 4- legged family members who visited, including goats. And gave kudos to those who braved heavy snow, even rain, to get that perfect tree.
Many of you have asked for a referral to another farm. That's a difficult question to answer. Every farm is different and unique. But it's even more difficult for Mark to answer.
It was a career decision that brought Mark to NJ. He was employed on the faculty at Rutgers University's Cook Campus as a Professor and the Forestry Extension Specialist. You may have heard the crews refer to him as Doc. His last 13 years he taught Dendrology (tree identification). But he spent his entire career working with private forest landowners and, yes, Christmas tree growers. He knows many, many of the growers in NJ and has visited many farms throughout NJ. There are many wonderful farmers out there and he doesn't feel it would be appropriate to make a recommendation. We hope you understand. We highly encourage you to check with the NJ Christmas Tree Growers Association for farms near you and what those businesses offer.
We have to give a shout out to the crews we have had all these years. We absolutely couldn't have accomplished this without their loyalty, dedication, knowledge and great personalities. They believe in the spirit of Christmas and enjoyed sharing that with you. We loved having them with us over the years as they became part of the LSF family. We will absolutely miss them!!
We are truly honored you allowed us to be a part of your Christmas traditions. And we will treasure these memories as we move on to make new memories.
When we first opened, our slogan was "we aren't the biggest but the friendliest". We hope we accomplished that! And we always felt, while we sold trees, what we really wanted was to provide a farm experience for families to share.
In the words of Carol Burnett "I'm so glad we've had this time together"
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year and the best in the years to come.
