It smells like Christmas inside the Howe Family Farm Stand at 1760 Intervale Road in Bethel, where Alyssa Howe Freeman — farmer, Telstar High School education technician and this season’s wreath-maker extraordinaire — is hard at work.
It’s a family operation. Her husband, Jeff Freeman, and brother-in-law, Jason Coolidge, pitch in helping Howe Freeman find boughs in their woods. Her mother, Diane Howe, ties the ribbons that finish each wreath.
Howe Freeman pauses to warn that crushed cat spruce leaves give off a sharp scent often mistaken for balsam. She sorts carefully for the “three fingers” she wants in a cut stem, blending what she calls her “type A” and “type B” greens. She’ll make about 60 balsam fir wreaths this season.
She’s also teaching 11 wreath-making classes this season at Telstar Adult Education, Dirigo Middle School, Oxford Federal Credit Union and other local sites.
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