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Oak Trees Stories and Pictures |
This first picture is of the Seven Sisters Oak in Lewisburg, Mandeville, Lousiana
which is supposed to be the largest certified Oak Tree and it is estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. Below you'll see another picture of the same Seven Sisters Oak. If you click on it you'll be able to see the very nice large picture. The person in this picture is a wonderful person that loves Oak trees and does all she can to protect them. Her name is Coleen Perilloux Landry of Metairie, Louisiana and she is the chairwoman of the Live Oak Society.
Photo Copyright by Guy and Edie Sternberg, Petersburg, Illinois. Guy Sternberg is the founding president of the International Oak Society.
The next picture is of the of the Old Dickory Oak tree in Jefferson, Louisiana that was just saved by Coleen Perilloux Landry also in the picture. You can click on the picture to see the big picture of the tree as well as the latest article describing the fact that it was saved.
This last picture is of a very nice and old Oak Tree. Its name is The St. John Cathedral Oak and it is in Lafayette, LA. John Cathedral is one of the vice-presidents of the Live Oak Society.
Next, I have included the story by Greg Maki of how the Wye Oak in Maryland was destroyed by the big thunderstorm and I've included a picture as well.
60 mph winds fell Wye Oak
By: Greg Maki, Staff Writer June 09, 2002
The Star Democrat 2002 Newspaper
WYE MILLS - The morning after the Wye Oak crashed to the ground, workers continued clean-up efforts and a stream of visitors came to say goodbye to the 460-year-old tree. "For years we knew it was structurally sound," said Stark McLaughlin, a forester for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service who worked with the Wye Oak for 28 years, "but 60-mile-an-hour winds were more than she could stand."
The largest white oak in the nation, the Wye Oak stood 104 feet tall with a circumference of 36 feet. Much of it was still lying across the road Friday as workers removed it by cutting off one branch at a time. The National Weather Service estimated wind gusts up to 70 mph Thursday evening. DNR spokesman John E. Surrick III said they will preserve as much of the tree as possible at a local state facility until a decision is made on what to do with it. "It's an historic tree, so we want to find a use for it," he said, adding that they will save "everything from leaves to large pieces of wood."
Surrick estimated there were 25 to 35 workers on the scene, including personnel from DNR, the state transportation and agriculture departments, Natural Resources Police, State Highway Administration and the Maryland Conservation Corps. Surrick and McLaughlin each said it would take several days to remove the fallen tree from the area.
"It stood tall and proud for 460 years, but nature has now taken away one of Maryland's most treasured symbols," said Gov. Parris N. Glendening in a press release Friday afternoon. "We are committed to preserving the Wye Oak, its majestic spirit and its place in history. I have directed our state agencies to work together to save as much of the tree as possible. By preserving the wood and leaves and using the buds for cloning, we will ensure that the stately Wye Oak will grace us with its presence for generations to come."
A Wye Oak cloning project was initiated in 2000, and there are about 20 clones growing at the John S. Ayton Tree Nursery in Preston. In April, two Wye Oak clones were planted on the grounds of Mount Vernon in Virginia as part of a 10-year reforestation project to save George Washington's forests.
A number of suggestions already have been made on what to do with the tree, McLaughlin said, ranging from using it for mantelpieces to simply using it for firewood. "We've had the high and low ends of suggestions," he said.
Surrick said the governor's office has been in contact with arts councils around the state, and McLaughlin said there has been communication with boards of education about possible uses for the remains of the tree. Surrick added that a website soon will be up to solicit suggestions. Glendening is encouraging Marylanders who have innovative ideas on how to use the wood that is being saved to e-mail DNR at wyeoakideas@dnr.state.md.us. "But right now it's still a clean-up detail, so it's safety first," McLaughlin said. "As you can see, it's still sitting there rather precariously."
A cool breeze and dark, threatening clouds did not deter a steady stream of visitors from coming to Wye Oak State Park Friday to take pictures, pay their respects and grab a souvenir. Workers set out a large bucket filled with leaves and branch tips for people to take home with them. "What do you want to get that for?" one woman asked her husband as he took a few leaves from the bucket.
"Posterity," he replied. "Maybe we'll grow another one." Kay Higgins drove from Ridgely to see the toppled Wye Oak. She said she had last seen the tree a couple years ago. "I heard about it on the news last night, so I thought I'd ride up and see it," she said.
Higgins didn't know what she was going to do with the leaves she had taken as a memento, saying she was a bit of a pack rat. Many people, though, were hoping to walk away with more than leaves. "Do you know how many people have asked that?" a forest service worker replied when a woman asked him to get her a branch. "No, we're not allowed to do that." Others were there simply to mark the passing of a local landmark. "What a tree that was," one Wye Mills man said. "It just goes to show you," said another, "when you get old, you're not indestructible."
McLaughlin said it was "heart sickening" when he heard the tree had fallen. For 28 years, McLaughlin worked with Wye Oak State Park and others from the Forest Service to serve as guardians of the Wye Oak. He said they incorporated advice and suggestions from arborists and other experts to "give it the best care we could." McLaughlin said many in the community have expressed their sorrow. Thursday night, he said, a Native American man touched the tree and gave it a blessing, "holding it as something very special."
"That was very touching," McLaughlin said. When the state of Maryland purchased the property in 1939 and made it a state park, Surrick said, it became the first state to purchase property specifically for the preservation of a tree. The Wye Oak was named by the conservation group American Forest as one of the original "Champion Trees" in 1940.
Limbs have fallen from the tree in the past, and the wood has been used to create Chesapeake College's mace, a 4-foot-long, ceremonial staff used for opening and closing formal occasions and a sculpture on display at the DNR office. Surrick said tree experts will attempt to continue the Wye Oak's genetic line by taking samples from the tree and grafting them onto roots. "We don't even know if it's going to be successful," he said.
Several seedlings from the Wye Oak have been planted, including one planted by Wye Tree Experts at the state park several years ago. John Brittingham, a licensed arborist, was in charge of tree planting for Wye Tree Experts at the time. He said he was the one who "put it in the ground."
Brittingham said he did not work on the Wye Oak, but he knew many who did. "It's kind of like an old person dying," he said. "There's so many people who have memories of that old tree."
Last Updated: Monday, 13-Nov-2000 05:22:04 GMT
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