South Messenger - November 14th, 2021

www.columbusmessenger.com
Tree farm’s time to shine
By Linda Dillman
Staff Writer
Imagine a farm where you work hard
all year, but your selling season lasts
less than a month and you have the
labor of love operated by tree farmers
Cecil and Melissa Rapp.
The couple started their Bedford
Falls Christmas Tree Farm in 2014
after purchasing a dilapidated, but historic
house more than 10 years ago,
along with acres of land in Lockbourne
nestled along a railroad line. They came
upon the abandoned farmhouse one day
while out for a Sunday drive and fell in
love with it and the location.
“We purchased the abandoned farmhouse
and land in 2003 with hopes to
save the historic 1848 home,” said
Melissa Rapp, “and it is still a work in
progress. We always dreamed of living
on a nice piece of land and wanted to do
something with it. My husband had
built commercial sprayers for the landscape
industry and when visiting his
customers that had tree farms, it was
always interesting. We love the fact that
we can do something with the land that
helps families make memories.”
While it took a year to just coax the
brick home into a habitable state, the
couple started clearing brush and trees
from the fields and planting fir and pine
seedlings with hopes of opening a viable
tree farm in the future.
In 2020, their dream was realized
when they opened their doors for the first
time to holiday memory makers the day
after Thanksgiving.
“We planted our first crop in 2014, and
continue to plant every spring,” said
Rapp. “We purchase 4,000 to 5,000
seedlings each spring. That sounds like a
lot, but there is some loss with each crop
that we have to plan on over the course of
the seven years or so that they grow
before harvest.”
The couple plant a variety of trees in
each field–White Pine, Fraser Fir,
Canaan Fir, Colorado Blue Spruce and
Concolor Fir–and the work is a lot harder
than they imagined.
“People may think that we only work
one month a year during the Christmas
season, but oh no,” she said.
There is field preparation and planting
in the spring, field mowing from April
to November, shaping and shearing trees
starting around the third year of growth,
pest control–sometimes by hand, weed
control and machinery maintenance.
Rangers honored
The following Hamilton Township
Ranger varsity football players received
the following Mid-State League Buckeye
Division honors: first team all-league -
Riley Gibbs, Jayce Peters, Kaden Kiser;
second team all-league - Nadir Langston,
Tristan Hampp; honorable mention - T.J.
Messenger photo by Linda Dillman
Melissa and Cecil Rapp prepare one of the
thousands of trees they are growing on
their farm for the upcoming holiday season.
All accomplished by the couple alone
under the watchful eye of their Great
Dane, George.
Then there are the behind-the-scenes
activities such as bookkeeping, retail
shop purchases, marketing and planning
for everything to ensure a memorable
holiday experience for guests.
The Bedford Falls Christmas Tree
Farm–yes, the name celebrates the
magic of the fictional town in the classic
holiday film, “It’s a Wonderful Life”–
opens the day after Thanksgiving and
closes for the season this year on Dec.19.
Their regular hours are 11a.m. to 5 p.m.
Friday, Saturday, and Sundays and the
farm is located at 7258 Lockbourne Road.
“We supply saws for families to go into
our field to cut their own tree, we shake
them, net them and help load the trees on
the cars,” said Rapp. “We also have precut
trees available for folks that prefer a
ready-to-go tree.”
A complementary cup of cocoa and a
Christmas cookie awaits guests and this
year the Rapps teamed up with R & B
Canned Goods–a local family business
based in Obetz–to offer vintage inspired
treats in keeping with the nostalgic “It’s
A Wonderful Life” theme.
Santa Claus will visit the farm on Dec.
4 from noon to 2 p.m. and a professional
photographer is available the first two
Sundays of the season to go out in the
field and capture tree cutting memories
for families.
Black, Owen Spencer, Brandon Hunter.
Lockbourne Council
Lockbourne Village Council meets the
second and fourth Mondays of each month
at 7 p.m. Council meets in-person at the
Lockbourne Historical Hall at 206 Vause
St., Lockbourne.
EMMANUEL LUTHERAN
CHURCH
80 E. Markison Ave., Columbus, OH 43207
elclife.org
SUNDAY WORSHIP SERVICE
8:30 am & 11:00 am
BIBLE CLASS
Adult and Youth (K-5)
9:45 am
*11:00 service includes a radio broadcast
in our parking lot on FM 87.9
Messenger
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November 14, 2021 - MESSENGER - PAGE 3
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