Entries by Scott Carpenter

American Christmas Tree Journal

July 2006 At the North Carolina CTA Winter Meeting in March, awards were presented for outstanding service to the Christmas Tree commodity in North Carolina and for outstanding educational awareness to the praises and problems associated with Christmas Tree production. Harry Yates presented Sam and Margaret Cartner with the NCCTA Outstanding Service Award and remarked […]

Starting from Scratch

A History of Christmas Tree Farming in the Mountains of North Carolina By Miles Tage, Mountain Times Publications | November 18, 2004 In the beginning was Roan Mountain. Covered with wild native North Carolina Fraser firs, Roan was the logical choice for a few Avery County farmers looking for a crop to grow. The clear […]

A Feeling for Firs

Sunday, November 30, 2003 HERALD-JOURNAL Spartanburg, S.C. Sure it’s business. But, it’s become a tradition. For more than 40 years, this North Carolina family has come together this time of year to supply our nation with that most towery of Christmas symbols. { Story by Gary Henderson / Staff Writer & Photos by Mike Bonner […]

Margaret Cartner – Helping the Family Business

Written by  Helen Pitts of Sugar Plum Farm Margaret Cartner did not arrive in a horse and wagon dressed in gingham, but she is nonetheless a true pioneer. She and husband Sam own and operate Cartner Christmas Tree Farm in Avery County. Through her decades of affiliation with tree growing, she has witnessed tremendous growth […]

Sam Cartner Inducted Into WNC Agricultural Hall of Fame

From Limbs & Needles Magazine Summer 2002 edition. These articles are used with permission from the NC Christmas Tree Association. Information supplied by: Pat Brinkley WNC Community Development Association, Inc. The WNC Community Development Association has announced that two people have been selected for induction into the WNC Agricultural Hall of Fame. Sam Cartner, retired […]

Marriage Proposal at Tree Farm

by Heather Faulkner It’s not every day that a marriage proposal happens at a Christmas tree farm. But for one couple from Gastonia that is exactly what happened last Friday. It all began when John Wilson and girlfriend Emily Nivens thought it would be nice to start a family tradition of picking out the family […]

From the ground up, Cartner Has Watched The Tree Industry Grow

by Scott Nicholson When Sam Cartner and a few others set out their first Christmas tree seedlings in 1959, more than one of their farming neighbors thought they were crazy. Now, forty years later, they have realized that Cartner was crazy like a fox, and many of them have gone into the business themselves. Cartner […]

Neiman Marcus

During the 80’s, Neiman Marcus carried the Cartner’s Blue Ridge Fraser Fir for their select customers.