Tom Dirr is not your typical
AT&T Company retiree. In fact, Tom
did not retire from AT&T at all. He
left the company to operate his Christmas Tree business, which is still going strong
today in Goshen, Ohio! As a recent
visitor to Dirr Nurseries will attest, Tom maintains a very high level of
physical activity!!
Tom prepares Nursery Seedlings
for planting. (April, 2002)
Tom and his wife have 2 sons
and 2 daughters. They are scattered,
with one still in the area, 2 in Florida, and 1 in Cleveland. All are married.
On the grand children side,
Tom is very proud of all 6 Grandchildren.
The oldest is 19 and is attending Berea College, and the youngest just 6
months old. The older
"Grands" help with the tree shaping.
After seeing the beauty of the trees at Dirr’s, you can believe that
these kids are not afraid of hard work!!
Tom and his family moved to
their current location in Goshen, Ohio in 1978. Their original tree farm location was sold to become a part of
the East Fork State Park at that time.
Sue and John Bradford remember well the annual trips to cut the
Christmas Tree with their two boys and neighbors. The tradition of cutting your own Christmas Tree continues at the
Goshen site.
Tom and the current crop!
Tom is the OOM (Outside
Operations Manager) for the enterprise, and his wife takes care of the Nursery
Manager and paperwork duties. If you have
a chance to visit their farm you will see the results of some great
teamwork! You may also find their
business on the World Wide Web at www.dirrnurseries.com.
The Nativity - Part of the seasonal tradition at Dirr Nurseries.
Their current home is a
classic, historic brick farmhouse that is over 100 years old. It is located in a beautiful country
setting. The surrounding farm is about
115 acres, and Tom uses about 80 acres of the property for trees and Nursery
stock.
Tom likes to use his video
camera around the grounds and appreciates hearing the sounds that are captured
with the pictures.
A Carribean cruise is in the
“planning and talking about it” stages, and may happen after the end of the
busy season this year.
Tom may be contacted at
e-mail address mdirr@cinci.rr.com.