He didn’t know it at the time, but a roofing project 40 years ago pointed Dave Vander Velden in a totally different direction.
That direction — owning and operating Christmas tree farms in Door and Oconto counties — has paid off over the years, and the fruits of his labor will soon be on display in Madison.
The Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association selected two balsam firs from Vander Velden’s tree farm near Gillett to be displayed in Madison in December. One is headed to the State Capitol Rotunda, while the other can be viewed outside of Gov. Tony Evers’ residence.
Each tree was harvested Nov. 17 and transported to Madison the following day.
“I don’t know what they’re looking for, but that’s what I’d be looking for,” Vander Velden said while standing next to a 30-foot tree selected for the Capitol. “If you look at it, it’s genetically superior. Look at the tree next to it. It’s nice, but it’s more open. It’s a nice-looking tree for a wild tree, but it doesn’t quite have it.
“This one is full and tight all the way down the line. It’s time for it to go. That’s what I was in business for: to grow new ones.”
Vander Velden had a hunch the tree, which he planted in 2002, was special long ago.
“I saw that for many years,” he said. “I was saving it in case I ever won the national (competition) again, because the national goes to the White House.”
Vander Velden and his wife, Mary, operated Whispering Pines Tree Farm near Oconto until they sold the business in 2019.
Vander Velden said he got started in the tree farm business in 1984 while he was living in the Green Bay area.
“I lived in Ashwaubenon and bought a house in Allouez,” he said. “I had to build a garage, and a guy from across the street came over and helped with the roof. He had a tree farm for sale in Door County. By the time we got done with the roof, I owned a tree farm. I like trees, I guess.”
Four years later, the Vander Veldens started Whispering Pines Tree Farm from scratch.
“When we first started, people were saying, ‘Oh, you’ll never make it, you don’t know what you’re doing,’” Vander Velden said. “I was a machinist. At one time, machinists got laid off all the time, and I was one of them. I switched jobs 14 times. Four places hired me twice and one guy hired me four times. I wanted to do something where I could help myself and be stable if I ever got laid off. I was my own boss. The trouble was I never knew when to quit.”
Vander Velden is no stranger to having his trees on display.
His trees that won state competitions were placed in the Governor’s Conference Room at the State Capitol and also had a tree placed in the White House in 2016 after winning a national competition.
He and his wife traveled to Washington, D.C., and met first lady Michelle Obama while delivering the tree, which was more than 10 feet shorter than the one selected for the Capitol this year.
“The White House came out and looked at the tree,” he said. “That one was from Whispering Pines. These trees weren’t big enough yet.”
Vander Velden kept the six-acre tree farm near Gillett after he sold Whispering Pines six years ago.
“I’m hoping to maybe find someone to take over,” he said. “These trees kind of take care of themselves, but I have to go through with a chain saw and start cutting the ones that are too close together. The work at a regular tree farm never stops. It’s physical and mental. That’s why I was so happy to retire.”
The Capitol Rotunda three was selected after Vander Velden contacted the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association.
“I told them I had a tree and (association president) Greg Hann got a hold of the Capitol,” he said. “I sent them a picture of a couple of them, and they came out here and looked.”
Vander Velden and his family will attend a special lighting ceremony at the Capitol at noon Dec. 4.
Henry Schienebeck, executive director of the Great Lakes Timber Professionals Association, used a chain saw to cut down both trees.
“It has a very nice shape to it,” he said before cutting down the Capitol-bound tree. “The height could be a couple feet taller, but this is a good height. They will spray it down so it stays green longer, and Dave’s pretty sure this one’s going to absorb some pretty decent water once they get it in the stand. That’s what’s amazing about trees. They’re renewable, they’re sustainable, and they just keep growing.”
Schienebeck said it’s important to have trees from Wisconsin displayed prominently during the holidays.
“If we can commemorate that with a tree in the Capitol, I think that’s important in today’s day and age,” he said. “It’s bringing people together for a good cause.”
It took a few hours to cut the trees down and get them loaded on the trailers.
The tree to be set up in the Capitol will be left outside of the building for a couple of days while the Legislature is in session, according to Schienebeck.
“On Thanksgiving week, when nobody’s around the Capitol, they’ll get it all set up,” he said. “Every entrance has a set of double doors. They’ll take a set of double doors out and put plywood in there to make a funnel to pull it in so it doesn’t hurt the walls. They get a bunch of guys at the end of a rope and through the door you go. Once they get it in, they’ll hook a winch, pull the top up and slide the bottom over.”
A theme is selected each year for the Capitol Rotunda tree and this year’s theme is “The Learning Tree,” which celebrates Wisconsin teachers and staff.
The tree will be decorated with handmade ornaments from students across the state.
“We’re proud to see Wisconsin’s forestry and Christmas tree industries come together to continue this time-honored tradition,” said Sarah Glitto, executive director of the Wisconsin Christmas Tree Producers Association. “It’s a special moment each year when the Capitol tree begins its journey from a family farm to the center of our state’s holiday celebrations.”
