David Chapman grew up on the Christmas tree farm he now owns and operates in Marquette County, Wis., about 50 miles north of Madison. He is the third generation of his family to be a Christmas tree grower.

“My parents, Jim and Diane, started growing Christmas trees when they bought the farm and moved to Endeavor in 1977. They named the farm Silent Night Evergreens,” Chapman explains. “My grandfather Irv Daggett — my mom’s dad — raised Christmas trees on a farm just a few miles east of here in Montello.”

Chapman, 42, graduated from Portage High School in 2000 and from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2004, with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

He worked for Enterprise Rental Car in Milwaukee for nine years before deciding in 2013 to return to the farm and work for his parents. In 2016, he bought the farm from them.

“I worked on the farm from the time I was 10 years old until I was about 20,” he says. “I always thought about running the tree farm, but I think working in Milwaukee for nine years was what convinced me to give it a try.”

Timing also factored into his decision, Chapman says. His parents were slowing down and considering retiring.

“Leah was still living and working in Milwaukee, and we decided to get married,” he says. “It’s a lot more appealing to live and work on the farm when you are married and raising kids, than to live here when you are single.”

The couple have two daughters, Madilyn, 7, and Reagan, 5.

The Chapmans farm 300 owned and rented acres, where they grow close to 300,000 Fraser firs, balsam firs, Scotch pines and white pines.

“My dad still does a lot of work on the farm, and my mom keeps the books and takes most of the orders for trees from individuals and groups wanting to buy Christmas trees to sell,” Chapman says.

The Chapmans and a crew of six to eight seasonal employees harvest 20,000 Christmas trees on the farm between Halloween and mid-November. The trees are cut, wrapped and stored in neatly covered stacks until they are sold to retailers, who pick them up in time to set up and start selling them on their tree lots by Thanksgiving.

“We don’t sell any trees to big-box stores,” Chapman says. “We mostly sell between 200 and 400 trees to individuals, and school and church groups doing fundraisers throughout the Midwest. A few truckloads go outside the Midwest.”

Chapman is proud of working with church and school groups to sell Christmas trees. “We’re helping a lot of communities,” he says.

Choose and cut

After they finish harvesting trees for their wholesale business in mid-November, the Chapmans’ attention quickly turns to readying their farm for visitors to choose and cut their own Christmas trees. Starting the day after Thanksgiving, the farm is open three weekends through the middle of December.

“Our hours are from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays,” Chapman says.

“We sell about 500 trees,” he adds. “Most of the trees are between 7 and 8 feet, but we sell a lot of 8- to 9-foot trees and bigger — up to 12 feet tall. We have some 2- to 3-foot tabletop trees, too.”

Visitors are welcome to borrow a saw and hunt for their tree. There are also pre-cut trees available for purchase.

“We measure it, wrap it and help them put it in their vehicle,” Chapman says.

Visitors are treated to hot chocolate, and cookies are available for purchase. They can also purchase evergreen wreaths. Visitors are welcome to bring their dog as long as it stays on a leash.

Award-winning trees

Over the years, Silent Night Evergreens has grown the winning state Christmas tree 12 times, including this year. When a Christmas tree grower wins the Wisconsin Christmas tree growing contest, they win the honor of presenting a 10- to 12-foot tree to the governor at the governor’s mansion. They are also entered in a national contest.

The winner of the national contest presents an 18-foot Christmas tree from their farm to the first family. The tree is decorated and displayed in the Blue Room at the White House during the holidays.

According to the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association, a Wisconsin Christmas tree grower has won the honor to provide a tree to the president of the United States nine times between 1966 and 2017.

Not everyone can say they have personally met four U.S. presidents, but Chapman can.

“We took a tree to the White House in 2017 when Donald Trump was president; in 2003 when George W. Bush was president; and in 1998 when Bill Clinton was president,” Chapman says. “I also went in 1988 when my grandfather won the national contest and took a tree to the White House when Ronald Reagan was president. Of course, in 1988 I was only 7 years old, but I remember it well.”

Silent Night Evergreens is located at W6717 County Road P, Endeavor, WI 53930, 1 mile west of Interstate 39 just north of Highway 23 West, in Marquette County. For more information, including prices for trees, visit silentnightevergreens.com or their Facebook page.