The Utzig family has been growing Christmas trees at Janesville's Tannenbaum Acres for more than 50 years.
Mark Utzig of Tannenbaum Acres on the outskirts of Janesville drives through rows of trees on the family tree farm. In the days leading up to Thanksgiving, the family is working at a fever pitch trying to prepare for the influx of customers who will be looking for a tree to cut down.
Photo By: Mark Kauzlarich
John Toberman cuts boughs off a pine in the back lot of Tannenbaum Acres.The branches had an odd shape, so they were harvested to be sold individually.
Photo By: Mark Kauzlarich
With the help of Mark Utzig, John Toberman cuts down the top of a pine whose lower section made it not worth selling. The boughs were cut to be sold individually at Tannenbaum Acres in Janesville.
Photo By: Mark Kauzlarich
Mark Utzig and John Toberman organize wreathes at Tannenbaum Acres in Janesville. They will look to sell close to 300 wreaths this season in addition to the trees and gifts in the gift shop.
Photo By: Mark Kauzlarich
Candise Utzig makes wreaths of all sizes in the basement of the home on the Tannenbaum Acres farm. The job has been refined to a science as a small, pedal-powered crimping tool closes a wire frame around the branches to create the wreath.
Photo By: Mark Kauzlarich
There are no trees in a large portion of Tannenbaum Acres. The drought has wreaked havoc on the farm. 'We normally lose five percent of the trees for various reasons. This year it was 95 percent,' said owner Mark Utzig.
Photo By: Mark Kauzlarich
Up in the observation tower, Mark Utzig of Tannenbaum Acres in Janesville still is able to keep a smile, though the scene out the window is somewhat grim. Losing 95% of the spring planting this year from the drought is tough, but they won't feel the effects for almost 10 years when the trees would have been full grown. Instead, Utzig will plant double, or more, of the normal number of trees next spring and hope that even though there will be a bad year of sales in about 10 years, the year following might be a boom.
