When we were kids, we sold trees at our father's farm to make money for Christmas. Each weekend from Thanksgiving to Christmas we were outside making garland and wreaths and selling trees for a dollar a foot with a $6 max! As we got older, the tree farm was no longer a priority. But, in 2004, our dad Bob Hauptmann (nicknamed Hoppy), cleared the fields and started planting again, with the hopes of
bringing all of us, and the grandkids, together again. Hoppy was the driver of each years planting by ordering the tiny trees, marking out the rows, and forcing eveyone to come out and plant each Mother's Day. In 2012 Hoppy passed away unexpectedly, so, to celebrate his memory, we decided to start selling the trees he worked so hard to cultivate. Each of his four children and their growing families came from near and far to rekindle the Hoppy's Christmas tree tradition. We were not prepared for tree season. We sat shivering on logs beside the fire pit every weekend from Thanksgiving to Christams Eve no matter the weather, hoping someone would drive up in need of a Christmas tree. We knew that even if we only sold one, it would have made Hoppy happy. Each year we added something new to grow our tradition. First came the "sugar shack" which doubles as our maple syrup production headquarters. When our other field grew in, we added a 1950 Farmall and hay wagon ride for transportation to and from. One of the most important additions, was that of genuine Hoppy Christmas character cutouts. When we were kids, our dad had hand cut and hand painted a life size Santa Claus, Elf, and Rudolph for the tree farm. We brought them out of storage and decided to place them in our tree fields for the kids to find. Every couple years, his grandchildren also create a life size Christmas character keeping Hoppy's spirit alive. They even made a game out of it, offering a scavenger hunt for the visiting children. We have grown so much since 2012, besides cut our own trees we sell hand crafted wreaths, maple syrup from local trees boiled on site and locally sourced honey from North Stonington's own Flatlander Farm. The tree farm tradition, initiated by Hoppy himself, is alive and well and growing in strength with each passing year. We hope he enjoys watching us work hard each weekend while having a ton of fun together.
