In His Shoes
Jim
Henson
By: Yozette “Yogi” Collins
E
very time I see
Christmas trees
tied to car roofs
this time of year
I get mental pictures of
families decorating the tree
together, cozy and happy.
The (not so) funny thing is
that picture rarely seems to be the reality at my house, whether due
to a setting-up-the-tree fiasco or the lights shorting out after they’re
finally on the tree. Thankfully, the fun of actually getting the tree is
alive and well in the High Country.
Witnessing the fun firsthand is Jim Henson, owner of Bear Wallow Choose and Cut at Long Ridge Farms (and part owner of Circle
C Choose and Cut in Boone). Bear Wallow, named for a muddy area
on the 300 acre farm where bears like to “wallow” around, is an extension of the wholesale Christmas tree business Henson began over
30 years ago.
Henson certainly knows Christmas trees and how to successfully grow beautiful ones. “We start from seed,” Henson explains.
“We grow them for three years in a seed bed, then they go into a
transplant bed for two years, then we move them to the farm.” Each
tree, five years old before actually being planted on the farm, is then
pruned and fertilized annually and averages one foot of growth each
year following planting—so, a 7’ tree is actually twelve years old.
Henson grows a few varieties of trees, but says that of the trees he
sells, people by far prefer the traditional look of Frasier firs to other types. “We grow and sell Eastern white pine, we have a few Blue
Spruce and the rest are pretty much Frasier’s. White pines represent
about one percent of our sales, but Frasier’s are absolutely the best
sellers without a doubt.”
A pharmacist who
worked at Watauga Medical Center and Cannon
Memorial Hospital for
over two decades, it was
Henson’s love of hiking that led him to Long
Ridge Farms in 1974 in the first place. “I just found this farm while I
was hiking across the ridge years ago,” he explains. “I hit a trail and
it ended up coming down here. The farm had been abandoned for
years and it had grown up into locusts and blackberries and all kinds
of stuff. I was like, ‘Oh, this is nice.’ And somehow I ended up being
able to buy it.”
Henson now lives at the top of a ridge on the farm and takes a
four-wheeler up a 700 foot vertical climb to his house rather than
driving ‘the long way’ via Matney. During snowy weather he often
just hikes to his house, but that’s not a big deal to this adventurer
who enjoys high altitude climbing (peaks over 18,000 feet).
“I just got back from climbing Aconcagua in Argentina in March,”
Henson says almost shyly. “My hands froze up at 21,000 feet. They
were numb for about a month. That’s probably the most intimidated
I’ve been because once your hands start freezing, everything starts
to go. Your energy goes into trying to stay warm, and then your legs
wear out.
And though he has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and peaks in Russia
among others, he still loves hiking in the High Country. “We hike
Grandfather [Mountain] a lot. It’s a beautiful hike. I enjoy that as
much as anywhere.” Which is why he’s happy he discovered that
overgrown farm in Valle Crucis so many years ago; it’s home.
Bear Wallow Choose and Cut is at 406 Long Ridge Farms Road a few miles past Mast General Store in Valle Crucis.
Opens Thanksgiving Day, and then weekends from 10 a.m. until dark. Hayrides (weather permitting) and complimentary
hot chocolate await visitors. Call (828) 297-4373 or log onto www.longridgefarms.com for more information.
Directions: From Boone, take Hwy. 105 South to stoplight at Valle Crucis. Turn right at The Ham Shoppe onto
Broadstone Road. Go past Mast General Store, and take a left onto Watauga River Road. Turn left onto Tom Ward Road.
Turn left onto Paul Presnell Road. Turn left onto Long Ridge Farms Road. Bear right and follow signs to office.
26 | November 2010 | www.banglemagazine.com