99-Year-Old Ontario Man Still Works on Christmas Tree Farm After 72 Years

A 99-year-old Canadian man has spent more than seven decades carefully taking care of his Christmas tree farm with his family, saying it is one of the reasons why he has lived so long.

“It keeps me fit, and I think it’s one of the reasons I’m 99 years old,” Eugene “Pud” Johnston of  Johnston Brothers Tree Farm in Ontario told the Washington Post last week. “I can still prune very effectively.”

After starting the farm with his brother, Eric Johnston, in 1952, Pud has spent hours pruning trees every day from July to December for the last 72 years, the publication reported.

Even after Eric, who was two years older than Pud, passed away in 2009, the 300-acre farm has remained in the family as Pud’s son, Kerry Johnston, became a manager. 

“We are tree farmers, and that’s going to continue,” Kerry, whose two sons also help out with the business, said.

Pud said he has always felt connected to the trees. 

“I’m a forester, and if it has to do with trees, I love it,” the near-centenarian stated.

His son concurred.

“I have always been a tree guy,” said Kerry, 56, adding that he chopped down his first Christmas tree at just eight years old. 

The Johnstons sell between 1,000 and 2,000 trees — which each take about ten years to grow — every Christmas season, he added.

“Care would begin at the time of planting the seedling,” said Kerry. “We’re irrigating, fertilizing and applying herbicides to control grasses and weeds around our planting.”

After around three years of growth, that is when the pruning process begins to shape the trees into the perfect traditional Christmas silhouette.

“We shape them into ideal Christmas trees,” said Pud, who takes his pruning job quite seriously.

“They’re so happy and outgoing when they come to get their tree,” the grandfather-of-four said of when people start coming in November and December. “It’s a pleasure.”

Penny and Stan Reid are some of the Johnstons’ longtime customers, having gotten their trees from them for the past 30 Christmases.

“The trees are beautiful, and they have tons of them you can choose from,” said Penny, 82. “Pud is an amazing young man. He is 99 and he looks like he’s 70.”

Married couple Lisa and Mike told CTV News that coming to the tree farm with their five-year-old son is one of the highlights of their holiday traditions.

“We came here our first year with Jack when he was just a baby,” she said. “So, we make it a tradition to come here every year.”

Pud emphasized how much he loves the business he has built over many decades. 

“I’ve stayed fit and active,” he said. “I’m happy, I’m confident, I’ve always been satisfied with what’s happening.”

According to Kerry, his goal is to eventually see his kids take over the farm — but not before he also grows into old age like his dad.

“My goal is to live a long time, watch my children take over and continue on,” he told the Post. “I’m at the age now that many of my friends are thinking about retiring, but I have no plan to retire until I’m unable to work.”

When asked if he will be back out pruning trees when he turns 100 next October, Pud did not hesitate.

“Absolutely. Yes, I will be.”

A photo shared by the Johnstons on Facebook shows their picturesque farm waiting for this year’s customers to come enjoy: