Our Christmas tree story began long before Hoppy's Christmas Tree Farm had a name. As the 4 Hauptmann kids (Ina, Wayne, Amy and Anna), we spent every weekend between Thanksgiving and Christmas at our father's tree farm, making wreaths, stringing garland, and selling trees for $1 a foot (with a whopping $6 maximum!). It wasn't glamorous, and it wasn't warm. As life got busier, the tree farm took a back seat. Then, in 2004, our dad, Bob "Hoppy" Hauptmann, decided it was time to bring it back. Every Mother's Day, he rounded up the family, ordered hundreds of tiny seedlings, marked the rows, and somehow convinced everyone to spend the day planting trees instead of relaxing. His real goal wasn't just growing Christmas trees—it was growing family traditions. When Hoppy unexpectedly passed away in 2012, we knew exactly how to honor him: open the farm and share the trees he had lovingly planted. That first season, we bundled up, sat by the fire, and hoped someone—anyone—would drive up for a tree. We figured if we sold even one, Hoppy would be smiling. Since then, the farm has grown right along with our family. We added our Sugar Shack (home of our maple syrup operation), hay wagon rides behind our 1950 Farmall tractor, handcrafted wreaths, local maple syrup and honey, and one of our favorite traditions—Hoppy's hand-cut Christmas characters hidden throughout the fields. Today, his grandchildren carry on the tradition by creating new characters for our annual scavenger hunt. More than a tree farm, Hoppy's Christmas Tree Farm is a place where memories are made, traditions are shared, and Christmas spirit grows a little stronger every year. We think Hoppy would be pretty proud—and probably reminding us we still have plenty of trees left to plant.
