Site search
sponsored by
News
Sports
ENLARGE
Greg Wilson and his son Jonathan, 11, of Portland pull their just-cut Christmas tree at the Oakland Tree Farm Saturday.
If you go...
What: Oakland Christmas Tree Farm
Where: 106 Green Valley Road, Oakland
When: The farm is open 9 a.m. to sundown every day until Dec. 23.
Cost: $3 to $5 a foot depending on the variety of tree.
Where: 106 Green Valley Road, Oakland
When: The farm is open 9 a.m. to sundown every day until Dec. 23.
Cost: $3 to $5 a foot depending on the variety of tree.
|
ENLARGE
|
Emily Wilson, 15, enjoys hot chocolate after helping to select and harvest a Christmas tree with her family at the Oakland Tree Farm Saturday.
|
|
ENLARGE
|
Nick Adams uses a shaker to dislodge dead needles and debris from a tree at the Oakland Tree Farm Saturday.
|
|
ENLARGE
|
Brothers Layne, Ty and Dakota Percell help carry a freshly cut tree at the Oakland Tree Farm Saturday. The boys helped their mother, Summer, get a tree. The boys' dad Eric, who is serving with Roseburg's Charlie Company in Iraq, will be home for a Christmas two-week leave. Summer said she wants to have the house decorated for his arrival.
|
OAKLAND—Every year, siblings Samantha, Ben and Jasmine Seamans each choose their favorite Christmas tree at the Oakland Tree Farm.
Then they stand by their selections hoping their parents, acting as judges, will crown their particular tree as the one worthy of being chopped down and taken home.
Their mother, Vanessa Seamans, said Samantha, 17, had noticed a disheartening trend in past years, as the Roseburg family browsed the 20-acre farm in Oakland for the perfect Christmas tree on Saturday afternoon.
“Samantha was complaining last night because her tree has never been picked,” she said.
Like other families visiting the Christmas tree farm on Saturday, picking out and chopping down their own tree is an annual family tradition for the Seamans family. They have been coming out to the Oakland Tree Farm for 10 or more years, Seamans said, and chopping down their own Christmas tree for at least 20 years.
Don and Cheryl Hambrick of Roseburg have also been going out to Christmas tree farms for 20 years. On Saturday, their daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids, all visiting from Portland for Thanksgiving, joined them at the farm to pick out their own tree for their Portland home.
The Hambrick's daughter, Becky Wilson, said the reason why they prefer to cut their own tree down is not only because it's tradition, but it's also way more fun. Her husband, Greg Wilson, added that the kids, aged 8, 11 and 15, wouldn't have it any other way. The family had considered buying a tree in Portland, but that idea didn't get far.
“We almost had a mutiny in the minivan if we didn't do it,” he said.
Angel Lancaster said she brings her family out to the Oakland Tree Farm, which has become the family favorite, every year because of how friendly the owners are.
“It's just fun to come out and pick out a perfect tree,” she said.
This perfect tree she said, “has to be really full and shouldn't have any bald spots in it.”
Each of the Seamans siblings prefers different characteristics in a tree, Vanessa Seamens said.
“Jasmine always likes the fats ones,” she said.
Ben, 12, said he looks for something else.
“I always like the weird ones,” he said.
As for Samantha, Vanessa Seamens joked she must prefer the “charred, brown ones.”
“We wonder why Sam's tree never gets picked,” she said, grinning widely.
Amber Budel, who came from Sutherlin with her husband and five kids to look for a tree also had specific requirements for the family Christmas tree. She carried a tape measure to check the height.
“We got a little house, so it can't be too big,” she said.
The family gathered around and scrutinized one particularly bushy tree.
“You like this one Shayleen,” Budel's husband, Jason, asked their 4-year-old daughter before letting her down off his shoulders to inspect the tree.
“Is it pokey?” she asked, poking the tree.
But Budel vetoed it after inspecting the bottom branches.
“Too much dead on it,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Seamens had chosen a winner and this time Samantha's tree had come out ahead and it was neither charred, nor brown. Dad, Alan Seamens, swiftly sawed the tree down while his son Ben documented it all on camera.
“We'll take it home and decorate it tonight,” said Vanessa.
• You can reach reporter Inka Bajandas at 957-4202 or by e-mail at ibajandas@nrtoday.com.
Then they stand by their selections hoping their parents, acting as judges, will crown their particular tree as the one worthy of being chopped down and taken home.
Their mother, Vanessa Seamans, said Samantha, 17, had noticed a disheartening trend in past years, as the Roseburg family browsed the 20-acre farm in Oakland for the perfect Christmas tree on Saturday afternoon.
“Samantha was complaining last night because her tree has never been picked,” she said.
Like other families visiting the Christmas tree farm on Saturday, picking out and chopping down their own tree is an annual family tradition for the Seamans family. They have been coming out to the Oakland Tree Farm for 10 or more years, Seamans said, and chopping down their own Christmas tree for at least 20 years.
Don and Cheryl Hambrick of Roseburg have also been going out to Christmas tree farms for 20 years. On Saturday, their daughter, son-in-law and three grandkids, all visiting from Portland for Thanksgiving, joined them at the farm to pick out their own tree for their Portland home.
The Hambrick's daughter, Becky Wilson, said the reason why they prefer to cut their own tree down is not only because it's tradition, but it's also way more fun. Her husband, Greg Wilson, added that the kids, aged 8, 11 and 15, wouldn't have it any other way. The family had considered buying a tree in Portland, but that idea didn't get far.
“We almost had a mutiny in the minivan if we didn't do it,” he said.
Angel Lancaster said she brings her family out to the Oakland Tree Farm, which has become the family favorite, every year because of how friendly the owners are.
“It's just fun to come out and pick out a perfect tree,” she said.
This perfect tree she said, “has to be really full and shouldn't have any bald spots in it.”
Each of the Seamans siblings prefers different characteristics in a tree, Vanessa Seamens said.
“Jasmine always likes the fats ones,” she said.
Ben, 12, said he looks for something else.
“I always like the weird ones,” he said.
As for Samantha, Vanessa Seamens joked she must prefer the “charred, brown ones.”
“We wonder why Sam's tree never gets picked,” she said, grinning widely.
Amber Budel, who came from Sutherlin with her husband and five kids to look for a tree also had specific requirements for the family Christmas tree. She carried a tape measure to check the height.
“We got a little house, so it can't be too big,” she said.
The family gathered around and scrutinized one particularly bushy tree.
“You like this one Shayleen,” Budel's husband, Jason, asked their 4-year-old daughter before letting her down off his shoulders to inspect the tree.
“Is it pokey?” she asked, poking the tree.
But Budel vetoed it after inspecting the bottom branches.
“Too much dead on it,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Seamens had chosen a winner and this time Samantha's tree had come out ahead and it was neither charred, nor brown. Dad, Alan Seamens, swiftly sawed the tree down while his son Ben documented it all on camera.
“We'll take it home and decorate it tonight,” said Vanessa.
• You can reach reporter Inka Bajandas at 957-4202 or by e-mail at ibajandas@nrtoday.com.
