SAUK RAPIDS HERALD | SATURDAY, DEC. 7, 2019 | Page 1B
Serving rural Benton, Morrison, Mille Lacs and Kanabec counties
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Sauk Rapids Herald
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2019
A Golden opportunity Third generation tree farm capitalizes on Christmas holiday BY NATASHA BARBER STAFF WRITER
RICE – The life of a Christmas tree grower is that of dedication and patience – just ask Joel Golden. Golden lives the Christmas season yearround and has since he was a child. “It’s a family tradition; it’s a legacy,” said Golden, the thirdgeneration owner of Goldens Nursery and Tree Farm in Rice. “It started from nothing, just by cutting trees out of a windbreak to make ends meet and grew to a huge business. Now, it’s a family tradition. It’s nice to see everybody come out every year.” The evergreen business planted its roots in Benton County over 60 years ago
when Golden’s grandparents, Clarence and Effie, moved to Minnesota from Nebraska. The couple had plans to ranch their newly purchased property but soon discovered it was less suitable for raising livestock than the Great Plains. Their adult sons Gerald (Golden’s father) and Virgil joined them in Minnesota the following spring, and the four looked for an alternative solution to support their family. “In 1958, they began cutting trees out of windbreaks and sawing them for $2 a piece,” said Golden, who also works as a custodian at Royalton High School. “From there, they expanded. Land was cheap, and they bought a lot of land and planted it with trees.” At the height of the family’s
that is when we really started working. We were working 4046 hours a week, trimming and painting trees.” Growing Christmas trees is a year-round task. When Golden is not harvesting trees for people to adorn their homes, he is grooming the evergreens for future years. In the spring months, Golden searches for the next generation of crop and hand digs tiny trees that have germinated from the seed beds Joel Golden page 2B
PHOTOS BY NATASHA B BARBER
Joel Golden, third generation owner of Goldens Nursery and Tree Farm, stands at his farm Dec. 4 east of Rice. Golden is the sole owner of the operation, but family lends a hand come the holiday season. Background photo: A choose and cut Christmas tree field lines Fifth Avenue Northwest east of Rice at Goldens Nursery and Tree Farm Dec. 4. The business has been providing Christmas trees for over 60 years.
END-OF-Y EAR HAY TOOL
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RAKES • TEDDERS HAY CUTTERS
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Rubes Sponsored by Fluegge’s Ag
“Each tree grows at a different rate; they are not always the same. Even though they may be all Balsam, they can still grow differently. It can be 10-15 years before you can get an 8-foot tree on Balsam” - Joel Golden
production in the late 1970s, the Goldens harvested 2 7 , 0 0 0 wholesale Christmas trees n annually in ir addition to their ay retails sales. Today – with help from his oldenn, siblings Jay Golden, nd Jill J Joy Nemeth and Kleeberger as wel welll as in an nd their uncle Bob Dubbin and ies – Golden respective families mium and sells roughly 150 prem premium ecut trees 150 lower grade precut each year in addition to choose and cut sales. The business grows spruce, Balsam fir, and Scotch, Norway and White pine on its 40 acres of planted fields. The seeds of the Christmas season were planted early in Golden’s life. As a young child, he remembers seeing the large piles of baled Christmas trees awaiting transport to wholesale accounts. “We were told to work and we worked,” Golden said. “When we were 12 years old
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