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By Ayanna Eckblad

KIESTER — Every year around Thanksgiving, Keith Rinehart, his wife, Carol, and their family spend countless hours preparing for their business’ biggest season of the year. The Rineharts own Rustic Pines Tree Farm.

They mainly sell Christmas trees, wreaths and holiday-themed decorations. In the past, Rustic Pines offered design and installation of tree windbreaks, but Rinehart said they are almost out of that part of the business. They also do tree spading.

Rinehart said it had been his dream to sell Christmas trees, and his wife has always wanted to run a craft shop. When they moved to Kiester, they decided to combine their ideas and Rustic Pines was created.

There was a lot of preparation involved before the Rineharts could open for business. In 1993, they began by planting different varieties of evergreen trees.

“That’s not a business you get into overnight, and you don’t get out of it overnight,” Rinehart said. Rustic Pines began selling Christmas trees in 1998.

One thing that has made Rustic Pines withstand the test of time, Rinehart said, is the personal touch he and his family give to their customers.

“We try to make sure it’s not stressful for people. There’s too much stress in the world already,” he said.

He likes greeting the customers, learning a little about them and helping them find the perfect Christmas tree.

Rinehart said at this point Rustic Pines has been open so long that he sees second and third generations of tree buyers. He enjoys when the holiday season rolls around and he and his family get to see the familiar faces again.

What happens to tree farms after the Christmas season is over? According to Rinehart, the upkeep of the tree farm keeps him and his wife busy throughout the year.

“Most people have no clue how much there is to do,” he said.

From the months of April through January, they must cut out old stumps, plant new trees and mow. Trees also need to be trimmed at least once a year, and occasionally need to be sprayed, but Rinehart said he tries to avoid that whenever he can.

For many years, Rustic Pines pulled in customers from about a 60-mile radius. A variety of circumstances including the COVID-19 pandemic and the closures of other area tree farms caused Rustic Pines to see a surge in popularity. Last year’s mild winter also brought in more customers than typical seasons.

“A lot has to do with the weather in this business,” he said. “If you have three weekends of nice weather, that helps tremendously.”

These days, Rustic Pines gets customers from about a 150-mile radius. Families come from as far away as the Twin Cities, Sioux Falls and Des Moines.

“It’s crazy to think people drive that far,” Rinehart said.

In anticipation of retirement, the Rineharts stopped planting trees last year. However, Rinehart said he had a change of heart, and they began planting again.

Rinehart recently added a second tree farm to Rustic Pines. Around the time he acquired the second farm, he was also diagnosed with cancer. Getting ready for the season and bringing in the second Christmas tree business, he said, has been a good distraction for him and has helped keep his mind busy.

Rinehart said because he lacks the manpower to sell trees at both locations, he will sell the second farm’s stock as pre-cut trees at Rustic Pines this year.

Customers will be able to cut down trees as well, though Rinehart said the supply of trees right now is a bit depleted because of the year they stopped planting.

After bringing a Christmas tree home, Rinehart said it is important to cut an extra inch off of the bottom of the tree before putting it in the tree stand. His best advice for keeping trees fresh, he said, is to get a stand that holds 1 1/2 to 2 gallons of water, and refill it regularly. If the water supply gets too low, the bottom of the tree will “scab over” and stop drinking.

People should also fill the Christmas tree stand with the hottest tap water they can get when they first set the tree up.

“That will get the tree to start drinking heavily again,” Rinehart said. After the first initial watering, the temperature of the water does not matter.

“We have people ask us, ‘Should I put sugar in the water? Should I put aspirin in the water? Should I put vodka in the water?’… none of it’s necessary,” Rinehart said.

Because of their commitment to tradition, he said, Rustic Pines always opens on the same day every year.

The business opens at 9 a.m. the Friday after Thanksgiving and stays open until dark, usually around 5 p.m. This is the only Friday during the season they are open. For the subsequent three weekends they are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and from noon to 5 p.m. Sundays. They also sometimes open during the week by appointment to accommodate people’s busy schedules.

During business hours, people can go into the Rustic Pines building, a converted horse barn, to warm up, enjoy complimentary cider, coffee and candy canes, and browse homemade goods from local crafters.

“We try to stress to the customer that this is a family event,” he said. “Bring your kids, bring your grandparents, bring everybody.”