Jon and Melissa Heffelfinger – along with their three children Willie , Conor and Maggie – operate the Christmas tree family business on their 80-acre homestead high atop a tree-covered Lizzie Ridge .
Heffelfinger Tree Farm , which has only been in business less that five seasons , came about as holiday necessity rather than a planned high-tech business model .
“ When we first moved to the local area
about 10 years ago , we went out to a real Christmas tree ,” Melissa Heffelfinger recalled . “ We couldn ’ t find a fresh cut Christmas tree anywhere that night .”
So instead of giving in and purchasing a pre-lit artificial tree , the Heffelfingers scoured their own heavily-wooded property for a Christmas tree .
“ We couldn ’ t find a pine tree that night and ended up cutting down a cedar tree ,” Melissa stated . “ That Christmas was great with a charming little hand-cut pine tree ,
and we made the decision to cut down our own tree each Christmas afterwards .”
The Heffelfingers decided it was important to plant pine tree seedlings for future Christmas tree cuttings and Melissa found out that their abundance of pine trees made great holiday greenery decorations . With pine trees growing to maturity and greenery-laced cedar trees everywhere , the Heffelfingers soon decided others might enjoy their holiday farm . In 2017 , Heffelfinger Tree
November 2022 SEKY - Life in Southeast Kentucky • 17