click here for photo of the farm
The Captain Jack name began in 1977 when Bill Dennis started doing aerial
traffic reports for WHO radio. Later WHO-TV and its FM station KLYF were
added to the stations using Captain Jack traffic reports. Captain Jack has
over 17,000 hours of flying time and over 2,000,000 miles of flying. (Prior
to 1977, Bill was a flight instructor for private and commercial pilots
and still holds current commercial airplane and commercial helicopter licenses).
In addition to aerial traffic reports, Bill added aerial photography to
the operation. Several thousand aerial photos are shot each year. Bill also
started programming computers in the early 1980's when "home"
computers first came out. Bill now enjoys Internet programming "HTML"
and all of these pages were written by him. Bill also purchased his own
Internet server in 1996 and now provides a direct connection to the Internet
for business and personal sites using a fiber-optic line.
The Captain Jack Tree Farm was started in the Spring of 1984 when Bill and
his wife Cicily purchased 40 acres of land for a Christmas tree farm near
Saylorville Lake, just north of Des Moines, IA. That year 1,500 seedlings
were planted. Today, the tree farm has grown to 75 acres and has approximately
50,000 evergreen trees and seedlings. Captain Jack's Tree Farm is a nursery
as well as a "choose and cut" Christmas tree farm and specializes
in evergreen species such as Fraser Fir, Scotch Pine, White Pine and Blue
Spruce.
The Christmas season is very special at Captain Jack's Tree Farm. Fresh
cut trees can be flocked to create a snow covered appearance. Besides being
able to choose and cut your own tree, the farm also offers Living Christmas
Trees as an alternative to a freshly cut tree. These potted trees can be
wintered and planted in your yard in the spring. Fresh roping and wreaths
are made daily from fraser fir, balsam, and white pine and can be shipped
anywhere in the U.S.
The Captain Jack Christmas Tree Farm operation includes a large heated showroom
in which trees, wreaths, pointsettias, and merchandise are displayed. This
Christmas showroom is now open year round displaying European hand blown
glass ornaments and other Christmas collectibles which are available for
sale.
In 1996, real reindeer were added including
(2 ) 2 1/2 year old females and (1) 1/2 year old male.
The Captain Jack Tree Farm conducts guided tours of the farm and the operation.
Groups such as garden clubs, student class field trips- from pre-school
through college, county extension groups, senior citizens, scouts and curious
individuals! Please call ahead to make a tour appointment (515) 964-8500.
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