Tradition runs deep at Maryland Christmas tree farm
November-December 2024
by Katie Luckett, Contributing Writer
Charles “Charlie” Cawley and his wife, Jane, aren’t just tree farmers. They are also the creators of holiday memories.
As the proud owners and operators of Cawley Family Farm, a Christmas tree operation in Denton, Md., and a staple on the Eastern Shore, the farm’s slogan “Experience a Family Tradition” stems from Cawley’s fond memories of cutting Christmas trees with his family growing up — one he hopes to share with other families who visit his farm for the holiday season each year. “Growing up, dad couldn’t afford a tree, so we had to go out to the woods and cut one down,” he remembers fondly. “I can still smell those trees.”
The Cawleys’ farm is located just across from Choptank Electric Cooperative’s headquarters and was purchased by the Cawley family in the early 1900s as a dairy farm. Charlie and Jane purchased the adjoining farm in 1988 and started planting Christmas trees in 1996.
The farm was one of the first residences to get hooked up to electricity by CEC in 1940. “Back then, granddad and dad kept dairy cows, and they even ran a milk route in Denton in the 1940s,” Cawley says. “But one day in 1963 when I was 10 years old, I came home from school and all the cows had been sold. It was a strange feeling, but they later bought 200 feeder pigs to keep us all busy.”
Last year, the farm became connected to Choptank Fiber’s high-speed broadband internet. “Choptank Fiber has helped our sales system on the farm as we can now process digital transactions and allow speedy credit card payments from a mobile app, including Apple Pay,” says Cawley. “That’s important because we are one of the last tree farms left on the Eastern Shore, and we draw customers from all over.”
Tradition and farming run deep for Cawley, who continues to manage the farm with his wife Jane and his daughter Amy. His father, Wayne Cawley Jr., was the Maryland Secretary of Agriculture from 1979-1991. His grandfather, Wayne Cawley Sr., was on the original CEC board of directors during its founding, leaving legacies and impacting the agriculture and electric cooperative industries.
“Our farm is directly across from Choptank headquarters, so it stands to reason that we would have a connection,” Cawley says. Cawley was a state and local community leader for many years before operating Cawley Family Farm. He served as an administrator for Caroline County, Md., worked for the Maryland Department of Agriculture, and was the Finance Director for Maryland Broadband Cooperative. Cawley was instrumental in getting broadband to Caroline County for rural residents lacking the benefits of high-speed internet. He currently serves as vice president of the Maryland Christmas Tree Association.
“Our farm has continued to grow throughout the years and now consists of 15 acres of trees,” shares Cawley. “We grow Douglas fir, white pine, Concolor fir, Canaan fir, Colorado blue spruce and Norway spruce. The farm also sells pre-cut Fraser firs that are hand-selected from North Carolina and Pennsylvania, and wreaths and wooden ornaments made fresh from our farm.”
Cawley says the climate and sandy soil on Maryland’s Eastern Shore make it difficult to grow certain tree varieties. “We have to constantly watch for and treat insects and diseases on the trees as they grow,” explains Cawley. “Our newly installed drip irrigation system has saved many of our trees from drought during the hot summer months, although we lost a significant amount due to the record-breaking heat this year.”
The farm plants trees each spring and lets them grow for at least seven years, most growing an average of one foot per year. This past March, the family planted 1,300 Canaan fir, Douglas fir and white pine trees.
Cawley Family Farm opens annually for “choose and cut” trees in the lot the weekend before Thanksgiving. “The average tree lasts in water in a home for four to five weeks,” says Amy. “Some customers come out early and tag trees to claim them, waiting to come and cut closer to Christmas.” Each tree sold at the farm is shaken, baled and tied onto vehicles at no extra cost.
Cawley and his family are advocates for fresh Christmas trees not just for nostalgia, but also because of their environmental benefits. “Not only are they good for the air quality while growing, but the trees can be easily recycled at the end of the holiday season, used for mulch or as habitat for wildlife,” he adds.
Cawley says he loves the smell of Christmas trees and the fact that he is helping to create holiday memories for his customers. “We get all kinds of positive comments on our Facebook page, and it makes me feel good when I see people who first came here as kids now coming back to get a Christmas tree with their kids.”
Learn more about Cawley Family Farm at cawley.farm and follow them on Facebook at facebook.com/cawleytreefarm.