Tannenbaum Farms Opening for Its Final Season

CENTRE HALL — When Tannenbaum Farms officially opens for the 2021 Christmas tree season on Nov. 26, it will be doing so for the final time.

Craig and Martha Weidensaul have owned and operated the farm at 161 McCool Road in Centre Hall since they planted their first trees more than 50 years ago. It has been a true labor of love since that time, but, at 82 and 78 years old, the couple – both of whom have faced various health challenges — are ready to retire from what is a very physical lifestyle, and they hope to do so while they are still well enough to enjoy retirement.

“Craig says it’s going to be the hardest thing he ever did,” Martha said. “It’s going to be very hard for me, too, but I embrace the value of our next decision.”

That decision includes a 2023 move to the Foxdale Village retirement community in State College in what had been a carefully planned exit from farming, until 2020’s unprecedented demand for Christmas trees left them with only enough inventory for one more season.

Visitors returning to the farm this year will notice a big difference in the landscape. The fields where so many families have made a tradition of wandering through seemingly endless rows of firs and spruces to find and cut down their annual Christmas tree are now mostly barren. What remains is the average number of trees they normally sell per year. Once those trees are gone, the season will be over, marking an end to a way of life that has been a dream come true, especially for her husband, Martha said.

“Even before we got married, Craig said to me, ‘One thing I know about my future is I never want to do a job all my life like my father did, just to bring home an income to feed his family. I want to enjoy what I do.’”

With a degree in forestry and a doctorate in plant pathology, the avid outdoorsman from Reedsville decided early on that he could best achieve that objective by growing Christmas trees. Through some creative financing, the young couple found a way to obtain 80 acres of land in Centre Hall in 1970, and set out to plant 10,000 trees.

Recognizing it would take years before the farm could produce income, Craig took a job in Ohio, where the couple ended up settling down for 25 years.

There, they raised three children while frequently making the 279-mile trek back and forth on weekends to care for the land and the trees, learning to farm via trial and error with a little help from neighbors and friends.

“We lucked into a good place, a good location with good soil, and most importantly, with wonderful neighbors,” Martha said.

Those neighbors helped the young family through challenging times, rescuing stuck tractors and providing the family with fresh water while the Weidensauls camped out on their land in a tent, in a camper, or in a cement building with no plumbing or heating.

During this time, Tannenbaum operated solely as a wholesale business. The Weidensauls put their children to work, and hired some help — including two 19-year-olds who continue to work for the farm to this day, now in their 60s.

In 1995, when their youngest child graduated from high school, the couple moved back to Pennsylvania permanently to make Tannenbaum Farms their full-time career.

Craig was content with continuing to operate as a wholesale farm, Martha said, in part because once the trees were loaded on trucks by Thanksgiving, he had time to enjoy hunting season. But Martha was missing the many friends and activities that enriched her life in Ohio.

“I was a sad sack,” she said.

“So Craig said, ‘Maybe you’d like to sell a few trees at the barn.’ I ended up selling 300 trees. And I loved it, because I enjoy people.”

Through word of mouth, the retail aspect of the business grew at a rapid pace over the next several years, and soon local families were coming in droves after Thanksgiving for pre-cut trees, Martha’s handmade wreaths, or the whole experience of cutting down a fresh Christmas tree.

The Weidensauls continued to purchase land and add barns and buildings to the farm, eventually building their dream house on the 140-acre property. Even after they close shop and move to State College, the couple does not intend to sell the farm.

Martha says they’ll continue to spend time there, and they are thinking about new ways to use it.

Meanwhile, Martha said, “I hope we can express our appreciation to our customers for many, many happy years. If the farm brought them joy, imagine how much joy it brought us. But all good things come to an end. … We know our customers are disappointed; we know our customers are sad. We are equally as sad. But life changes.”

When the last tree is sold and the doors finally close on the 2021 season, Martha said, “There are going to be tears, that’s for sure.”

This story appears in the Nov. 24-Dec. 1 edition of the Centre County Gazette.