John Straight planted his trees about six years ago in a bare field that he had available because he was unable to plant anything else there and did not want it to go to waste. The trees are now full grown and available to be cut, just in time for the holidays.

Straight is offering anyone the chance to come and cut down their own tree of their choice, with the only cost being $20 a tree, and the money will be donated to Chautauqua Hospice.

“In 2015 my wife passed away,” Straight said. “Hospice was an important part of her end of life care and was very helpful for me and my kids. I decided rather than sell these trees and make a few bucks I would donate the money to them.”

Straight is located about † of a mile from Cassadaga, just outside the village. The field of trees is located at 7479 Putnam Road and is about half an acre of Straight’s three and half acres of land. Originally Straight started with 150 Norway Spruce trees in his field, but says he lost about 100 of them in the first year.

After replanting them, Straight estimated that there are still about 150 trees in the field.

“Some of them are not pretty, but most are respectable and would make good trees for the amount of $20,” Straight said. “I also mow the field regularly, just like a lawn.”

All that is required to come and get a tree is driving up to where the field is. There is a sign marking the location along with directions and information. Some saws are available but Straight welcomed anyone to bring their own. The sign also includes an arrow pointing to the correct house to leave the monetary donations at.

“You can cut whatever tree you like and load it up,” Straight said. “There is a box for the money to be put in on the front porch of my house. You can come anytime, there are no hours. Just put the money in the box. We are trusting people to be honest and fair.”

For Straight, whether or not he does something like this next year or in the future all depends on the amount of trees sold this year.

“I think I will keep doing this until there are no trees left,” Straight said. “I am getting older, so we’ll see if I decide to replant any. I don’t want the field to turn into a forest. We’ll see how many are sold this year.”

Most importantly, Straight said that all of the money donated from the trees will go to Hospice, and he emphasized how much the organization means to him and his family.

“Hospice is very important,” Straight said. “It is a great service. The end of life care that they provided made it much easier for my wife and me and the kids. And a lot of the money that they get is from donations.”

Straight’s Norway Spruce trees are available now to be cut down for the holidays.