SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — As Kevin Baumgartner of Sioux Falls points out, there can be different reasons someone might pick a real Christmas tree over an artificial tree. Perhaps it’s the smell or the actual process of selecting one from among a group of similar-yet-still-unique options. Tradition, too, could very well have something to do with it.
“It’s always a good feeling to hear that I, my parents brought me here as a kid, and now I’ve got kids, and now they’re picking out the tree,” Kevin said Tuesday.
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“We get phone calls starting a couple of months ago, and they call me, and they say, ‘Can I get this Christmas tree?’” Kevin’s wife Suzanne Baumgartner said Tuesday. “And I say, ‘Well of course. I’ve already reserved it for you.’”
Kevin is managing partner with Baumgartner Family Christmas Trees, which celebrates 70 years in 2025. The name works well; “Baum” is the German translation for “tree,” and “Gärtner” means “gardener.” Kevin’s father Jerry started the business…