Humboldt’s community bids farewell to Ben Hurd’s Christmas Tree Farm
Dan Woods was in charge of stoking the fireplace at Ben Hurd’s Christmas Tree Farm this year, which everyone huddled around on the house’s back porch while keeping out of the rain last weekend. Some guests tried to keep their hands warm by clutching cups of homemade cider. A group of children ran past a giant wooden candy cane marked with foot measurements, weaving through the sea of pine trees sprawled across the property.
Each person who braved the weather in search of the perfect Christmas tree was greeted warmly and provided a list of questions by Woods.
“Where are you from?” Woods asked.
Any answer within Humboldt County was not sufficient.
“No, really, where are you from?” he pressed.
Every guest had a unique story of how they found themselves living in or visiting Humboldt. Some were dropping by the farm for the first time, while others were there as part of long-standing family traditions. Woods started with the same question that Hurd, who passed away in June at 93, had for every guest during his decades-long role as host.
“He pretty much sat on this porch no matter what, because everybody was his friend. Everybody knew him. They came here because they’d been coming here,” Woods said. “So, it’s just a giant hole.”
Remembering Ben
In honor of Hurd — a former CHP officer, a gunsmith, a bird lover, a vintage car enthusiast, and friend to many — a group of his friends decided to host a final season for his Christmas tree farm, which ran every weekend starting after Thanksgiving and ending on Dec. 21.
The farm sold around 400 trees every year, with this season seeing around 460 trees sold for $50 each. This season’s proceeds were donated to Hospice of Humboldt, which assisted with Hurd’s care near the end of his life.
Steve Porter, a friend of Hurd’s for the last 20 years, says that he and several of Ben’s close friends — who he called “Ben’s Bunch” — decided to host one more season before the property went on the market because they didn’t think potential buyers would want to continue maintaining the farm. And, he said, Ben would have wanted the remaining trees to go as Christmas trees. They also wanted to give the community a chance to say goodbye to the farm and show their appreciation for Hospice of Humboldt.
“I think that he would look back at all of us and just be happy that we didn’t just board the place up and put a closed sign on it and a for sale sign on the property and all that,” Porter said. “That is not the way he would want it done. I hope it’s done with a little bit more love and compassion than that. It’s kind of our call to order.”
Hurd’s farm, founded in 1978, stood out not only as a traditional outing for many families but also as a way for people to form connections. Porter cited Hurd’s decision to start the farm from his love of Christmas and its ability to bring people together.
“He took care of the trees like each one was special,” Porter said. “He had a blight hit here five or six years ago, where the trees were lacking something and he was very worried about it. So he got out and really investigated, talked to all the tree specialists and brought them all back.”
Hurd’s missing presence was noticeable, especially to his friends. The hummingbird feeders that lined the roof of the porch were gone. His playtime piano, normally rolling through Christmas classics, was silent. Hurd himself no longer sat in his red rocking chair by the fire.
David Erquhart, a friend of Hurd who met through volunteering at the farm, said it was a labor of love for Hurd and that profit wasn’t a priority. Maintaining a Christmas tree farm required daily maintenance, with a collective 5,000 trees being planted since the farm’s creation.
“Once you do the yearly costs and everything else, it really didn’t make money, but it was more of a passion for him just to be able to talk to folks and to enjoy their company,” Erquhart said.
Hurd also left a significant impact on many guests’ experiences. On a table next to a 75th birthday photo display for Hurd rested a red notebook labeled, “memories,” where guests shared their appreciation for the farm and Hurd’s hospitality.
“I got the pleasure to meet Ben last year, 2024, and he had a contagious smile and awesome convos. So sad he is gone. I love this place,” Jordan Williams wrote.
“We loved getting our trees here. We had great conversation around the fire with cookies and cider,” another note from the Van Dyke family read.
Memories at the Farm
Anna Peck, who lives next door to the farm after purchasing the property from Hurd in 2014, has been a regular attendee with her two children. She said she appreciated the support Hurd provided her family and found living next to the farm enjoyable — after an adjustment period.
“We were laying in bed before [we had] kids and somebody was cutting down their Christmas tree, used to be kind of annoying for us because it was so early in the morning when people would come out for us pre-kids, but then they were singing O Christmas Tree while they cut down their Christmas tree. And that was pretty adorable. We said, ‘Alright, we give in. This is sweet,’” Peck said.
Her son Orion, who is almost 4, has been enjoying his position on the farm as an “elf.” He visited the farm every day it was open, wore a festive hat, helped guests find the right tree for their home and enjoyed the hayrides.
“If they can’t find a good Christmas tree, I can show them where the best Christmas trees are. Also, if they want a small Christmas tree, a medium-sized one, or a big one, I can show them where they are,” he said.
The End of an Era and Its Lasting Legacy
Erquhart believed that the unique social opportunities of the farm will be hard to find elsewhere, but that the friendships made there will last.
“I’m not sure if the social part of it will survive. If, physically, it doesn’t stay here, I don’t think it’ll survive,” Erquhart said. “The only thing that it will be is just the people that have gotten acquainted with each other or are friends now. They’ll stay that way and continue to be that way.”
Even though Hurd’s property might no longer see crowds of people searching for a Christmas tree and drinking cider on the porch, Porter believes that remembering and creating traditions will preserve his goal of helping people connect with one another.
“The politics of our place may change, the religions of our places may change, but let’s keep these traditions,” Porter says. “Let’s hold tight to some of these special moments.”
As the sun set on Sunday and the farm closed, Ben’s Bunch had one last meal in his honor.
“He loved apple pie and ice cream,” Woods said. “So we’re having an apple pie and ice cream and root beer floats Sunday night, shutting the lights out, and goodbye.”
Griffin Mancuso (he/him) is a freelance journalist based in Eureka. He is passionate about uplifting the stories of local communities and wildlife education and preservation. More of his work can be found at griffinmancuso.wordpress.com.
This article appears in Through Mark Larson’s Lens 2025.