Robbie McClaran

Noble Mountain Tree Farm

Salem, Ore.
Bob Schaefer

"Our livelihood depends on Christmas trees," says Bob Schaefer, general manager of Noble Mountain Tree Farm, on 4,000 acres in Salem, Ore. The $10 million farm harvests 500,000 trees a year, supplying retailers such as Home Depot and Wal-Mart Stores, as well as nurseries and garden centers. Schaefer pioneered the practice of using helicopters to harvest and haul trees, speeding things up, and getting fresher, more fragrant trees to market. Although the harvest doesn't start until mid-November—when the company balloons to 400 workers from 65—Schaefer and his tree minders are now shaping the unruly firs into familiar conical shapes. And, of course, eyeing their own treasures, which take eight years to mature. "Every year my wife puts in an order for her tree, so I wander around with some ribbon until I find just the right one," he says. "I get my pick of five million, so I get a pretty nice tree."

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