Greece resident Horst George Nienaber was born in North Germany in 1935. He grew up in the struggles of a world wide recession and a war that most of us only know about from books and movies. During his early childhood Adolf Hitler was in power and eventually WWII began. Horst’s family was poor which made heat and comfort items sparse but the essentials were always provided to keep Horst and his brother and sister safe. In 1939 Horst’s father was drafted into the German Army and was forced to leave his young family. With the help of Horst’s grandparents the Nienaber family worked hard and maintained the family’s home and small farm.
In 1940 Horst began school. Often the one mile walk to his school house was too dangerous to take while the aerial bombing and strafing runs were occurring. While at school, there were times the learning would be interrupted by air raids with fighter planes warring overhead. Horst, his classmates and teachers would quickly take cover in slit trenches built into the school playground. Once it was safe, they would be sent home. The dangers became a sad reality when Horst went back to school to learn he lost classmates overnight due to arial machine gun fire that riddled their homes. When war came closer to Horst’s town the German soldiers retreated, and his town was captured by the Canadian and British troops. The town people, including the Nienabers, surrendered peacefully so their homes were not destroyed. Horst recalls waking to see the soldiers asleep on straw near his cows. He was full of fear but also curious as he approached them. This was the time Horst learned his first English words. September 2, 1945, the war ended and Horst returned to school. He was 10 years old and still lived in danger, as the grounds were laced in land mines planted by the German Army. The curiosity in the young boy would lead him to collecting and playing with dangerous war items such as grenades, ammunition and various materials from shot down planes in the fields.
At a young age, Horst learned the value of hard work and the lessons that came from it. He began farming at the age of 8. He helped take care of the family farm, including the animals. As a boy, he always dreamt of having his own farm and being a farmer. Horst was forced to leave his family, his schooling and his home at the age of 15 to look for work. He got a job working for a disabled farmer. He worked hard and learned all that he could and eventually became manager of the farm. In 1958 Horst decided to immigrate to the United States to pursue his dreams of owning his own farm.
Horst was sponsored by his Aunt and Uncle when he came to the U.S. He found work on a farm in Henrietta. Two years later he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served this Country. After his discharge he became employed by Eastman Kodak Company. He then met his beautiful soul mate Gisela at the Crescent Beach Hotel. She was also an immigrant who escaped from East Germany Communism before the Wall. She immigrated to the U.S. and was working as a talented hairstylist at B. Foreman Company. Horst and Gisela married in 1963 and they had two daughters named Heidi and Lynn. They raised their family in Greece N.Y. Horst spent 25 years working at Kodak. He worked hard, continued his formal education and learned his trade well as he saved his money to fulfill his ultimate dream of having a farm.
In 1970 Horst’s dreams became reality. He purchased 50 acres of land in Avoca, New York and created his dream, Mountain Ash Tree Farm.
The Nienaber family was very busy while living in Greece, raising a family while working full time and running a farm 80 miles away. Even though they worked exceptionally hard, they always made time for family vacations and special memories. Horst retired from Kodak in 1986 at the age of 51 and made the farm his full time work. He now has a 90 acre farm and plants several thousand Christmas trees every year. He has grown over 250,000 Christmas trees since he began.
The Mountain Ash Christmas Trees were first sold in a rented lot on Fetzner Road in Greece. In 1998 the family purchased a home and a corner lot at 1340 Maiden Lane. This is now where Mountain Ash Trees their handmade wreaths are now sold. Thousands of families have purchased their Christmas Trees from this Greece favorite. The trees are also sold through Boy Scout troops, Garden Shops and Wholesalers.
Gisela has since passed in 2011. After sharing love and a life with her for 48 years Horst misses her dearly. But he continues dedicating his time and energy to the farm. He does this with the help of his daughters, son in-laws and even his grandchildren. Horst plans to continue farming as long as he is physically able. He says, “My happiness is doing what I love by being outdoors with nature and animals and farming with family.”
More times than not, a Christmas tree is purchased in the hustle and bustle of the season, with little thought given to where it came from. This year if you have the pleasure of having a Christmas tree in your home from Mountain Ash Tree Farm you will now have a glimpse of where the that tree came from, its roots, the history of its branches and all the hard work and dreams that cultivated it.
Mountain Ash Tree Farm, 1340 Maiden Lane, Greece, 585-227-5094 is open now through December 24, 2015 from 9AM-8PM selling trees up to 15 feet including Fraser, Balsam, Concolor, Grand Canaan, Korean Veitch and Corkbark Fir.
For more information on Mountain Ash Tree Farm visit www.mountainashtreefarm.com.
