Why Small Businesses Matter
Shop small, do big things for your community
Why Small Businesses Matter puts a spotlight on the local merchants who donate their time, talent, goods, and services for the betterment of our community. The shop local movement spreads virally as local businesses who are “tagged” have the opportunity to share their story!
You're IT Tubby Tim's Tree Farm!
Three questions with Mary Dent, owner of Tubby Tim's Tree Farm.
Why did we start our business?
Tim started selling Christmas trees in Ridgefield after doing it for a season in Juneau, Alaska. Raised in Ridgefield, Tim was in his early 20s when his mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. He came home to be with her and finding he had extra time on his hands, decided to start the tree lot in town. This was nearly 30-years ago when he was young and spending most of his time in Alaska and traveling. Always drawn to seasonal work and the outdoors, this allowed Tim to keep his roots in town and continue working seasonally in Alaska. Now, here we are, nearly 30-years later, living and working in town, raising our two sons, still happily selling trees at Tubby Tim’s Tree Farm.
What is our best selling product/service?
We are a part of many people and their family’s Christmas tradition. We love this! We hear over and over again, “We come to you every year not only because you have the best trees but because you always have the nicest guys working for you.” Our trees really are beautiful and the young men that work for us are exceptionally hard working and polite. We have been working with the same two tree farmers in North Carolina for 15-years. They grow a beautiful Fraser fir, the tree that has become the preferred Christmas tree for many mainly because the tree holds its needles for a long time. We also offer Balsam fir Christmas trees. Indigenous to New England, our balsams come from two Vermont tree farmers who provide a freshly cut tree with a great fragrance.
Our employees are most often high school and college boys from Ridgefield as well as a few boys from Danbury. We have as many as 15 boys employed in any given season and for the high school guys, this might be their first job. Interestingly, we also have a few adults that started with us in high school and college and have moved on to families and careers but come back every season to work because they love the energy and joy that is truly a part of the tree lot.
Tubby Tim's Tree Farm is located next to the Limestone Service Station on Route 35 in Ridgefield. The Tree Farm is open daily now through December 24.
HamletHub thanks Fairfield County Bank for making our Why Small Businesses Matter series possible!