AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Every year, millions of folks get real live Christmas trees from stores and tree lots. They're precut and ready to go. But what if you want to be more hands-on, as in more hands on axe? Pierce Gentry of member station WUOT has this story of a farm in the foothills of the Smoky Mountains that offers a choose-and-cut experience.
PIERCE GENTRY, BYLINE: The Wilson Glyn Christmas Tree Farm could be a Hallmark movie set. The property comes complete with a historic farmhouse and a cantilever barn draped in garland and wreaths. First-time customer Tammy Onusic and her family pull up to the farm eager to pick out a live tree. It's a tough choice.
TAMMY ONUSIC: The other one.
HAL WILSON: That one right there?
ONUSIC: Yes.
WILSON: OK.
ONUSIC: Let's go back over to that one. Thank you.
WILSON: I'll take it right above the crook, right?
ONUSIC: OK.
I, every year, like to come and cut down a fresh Christmas tree. And I found this little farm here, and I wanted to drive all the way out here to cut it down.
GENTRY: They finally settle on a 10-foot tree sitting on a hillside.
(SOUNDBITE OF CHAINSAW REVVING)
WILSON: Here it comes.
(SOUNDBITE OF TREE CRASHING)
ONUSIC: Oh.
WILSON: There's your Christmas tree.
ONUSIC: I just think they're fresher, and they stay - it lasts longer, and they just smell so good in your house and stuff, too.
GENTRY: This small, family-owned farm offers this special experience to customers. They get to pick a tree and cut it down themselves with a saw or an axe.
WILSON: Every person that comes, there's a trigger that's Christmas to them.
GENTRY: That's Hal Wilson, who started growing Christmas trees on the farm 15 years ago.
WILSON: The tree farm is - sort of happened almost by accident. My daughter gave me a book that said "Christmas Trees: For Pleasure Or Profit." And I read it, and I thought, well, I could do that.
GENTRY: Now the farm sells about 600 trees each season, and Wilson's brothers and cousins come to help. And as it turns out, they're also pretty good at making music.
WILSON: We sang Christmas bluegrass gospel music - the old "Silent Nights" and "Joy To The World" - all those.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: The good stuff.
WILSON: The good stuff, right. We'll sing you a song, if you want us to.
GENTRY: Sure.
THE WILSON FAMILY: (Singing) Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let Earth receive her king...
GENTRY: Wilson calls his family over to sing a cappella.
THE WILSON FAMILY: (Singing) Prepare him room. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature...
WILSON: It's more than getting a real tree. You can get a real tree at all the stores. There's something more, I think, to coming out and experiencing - I'll call it real life.
THE WILSON FAMILY: ...(Singing) With truth and grace.
GENTRY: The slice of real life is what people come for, but they walk away with more than just a cut tree. They also get some Christmas spirit. For NPR News, I'm Pierce Gentry in Sevierville, Tennessee.
THE WILSON FAMILY: ...(Singing) And wonders of His love, and wonders of His love. And wonders and wonders of His love.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "JOY TO THE WORLD")
THE TABERNACLE CHOIR: (Singing) Joy to the world... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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