A family-owned Christmas tree farm in Gloucester County is preparing to start over, after a tornado destroyed their property. John Legge has been nurturing the trees since the late 90s.
“All but three mature trees that I had got blown over and laid down on the ground,” Legge said.
He and his family took shelter in the basement of their home on Mantua Boulevard, and listened as the tornado came through on Sept.1, 2021. He described the sound as a freight train.
“Huddled together in a little doorway, then we heard the glass break,” Legge said. “Then I went upstairs and there were trees in our house.”
Get Philly local news, weather forecasts, sports and entertainment stories to your inbox. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia newsletters.
Their home was seriously damaged, along with many homes and businesses in the tornado’s path.
“To be honest, the tree farm was the least of my worries,” Legge said. “Finally, once I got settled and we got all the trees cleaned up and we started looking out here, I’m like they’re all gone… all the trees are gone.”
Legge said it takes about eight to 10 years for a Christmas tree to grow to maturity. He took this past year off to focus on rebuilding his home, but plans to start planting new trees this spring.
While he said losing his trees was frustrating, he’s grateful the farm is a passion project of his, not his livelihood. Until the trees are ready to sell, the Legge family is selling firewood from what the tornado left behind.
Another tree farmer in South Jersey is also a hobbyist. Steven Kozachyn owns and operates Kozy Acres Farm in Glassboro. Open only on weekends, Kozachyn and his family welcome guests with hayrides, hot chocolate, and a familiar face complete with rosy cheeks and a white beard.
“[The kids] look at me and they say ‘hmmmm,’” Kozachyn said. “Is he or is he not?”
He explains to his believing guests, that he’s Santa’s brother.
“He makes the toys and I make the trees,” Kozachyn said.
Kozy Acres sells trees for $60. Kozachyn said that hasn’t changed in a number of years, and likely won’t for the foreseeable future.
“For us it’s not necessarily about the money it’s about the experience,” Kozachyn said.
It’s a rarity across the nation, considering inflation has made farming necessities like fuel and fertilizer noticeably more expensive. For Kozachyn, who works full time at Rowan University, those expenses weren’t breaking the bank.
“When I did the calculations it was relatively incremental,” Kozachyn said. “I didn’t feel comfortable raising the prices this year.”
Selling trees from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, the Kozachyn family estimates they’ll sell 350 to 400 trees this season. At a time when the cost of living is higher for families across the region, they’re happy to provide something more than material.
“We have a saying here we don’t sell trees we sell family memories,” Kozachyn said. “It’s truly a family thing and we just do it because we have fun.”
