I recently shared a story about the history of Kewanee’s oldest tree, the “Potter brothers’” Osage-orange tree on Main Street, and the 2009 heroic efforts made to save this link to our past. (Click here to see that article.) A version of the story also appeared in the Illinois State Historical Society’s Illinois Heritage magazine, telling the rest of the state about how Kewaneeans and non-Kewaneeans teamed to combine science and the human spirit to preserve a reminder of where we came from.
A few months ago, Guy Meilleur, an ISA Board-Certified Master Arborist from North Carolina, asked his friend, Guy Sternberg, owner and operator of Starhill Forest Arboretum in Petersburg, Ill., and a 32-year part of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, whether it was time to revisit the Potter brothers’ tree to see how it was doing. Meilleur and Sternberg were two of those whose boots on the ground in 2009 saved the tree when the city had contemplated cutting it down. Meilleur included in the conversation Jason Knowles of Knowles Municipal Forestry, a consulting firm based in Kent, Ohio, who is responsible for providing urban forestry services to municipalities, colleges, universities, parks, and private landowners. Jason, a former Kewaneean with family still in town, had recently driven through Kewanee to take a quick look at the tree.
Meilleur was on his way to an event in Chicago and asked his colleagues whether it was time for cuttings and pruning to be sure it wasn’t getting too lopsided again. After Sternberg’s last visit to Kewanee three years ago, Sternberg thought it might be time. Also, after reviewing photos Knowles had taken when he swung through Kewanee, Sternberg was concerned about whether the “uplean” roots holding the tree up may have been damaged. In addition, Knowles’ photos showed that the sidewalk around the tree had been lifted, and Sternberg was concerned that any city efforts to repair the sidewalk could cause damage to the tree’s roots if not performed carefully.
And, the seedlings that had been grown from cuttings taken in 2012 had not survived, so all three hoped that new cuttings could be taken for propagation.
The three specialists continued their conversation and concluded that a light pruning might be in order, specifically a 5 to 10% trimming of the portion of the tree over Main Street.
Meilleur has volunteered to come to Kewanee in January, to look at the tree in-person and to trim it after his inspection. He has reached out to Kewanee city officials on how best to proceed.
Kewanee’s Osage-orange, perhaps the last documented tree from before the beginning of Kewanee, was saved once for future generations. A connection between the past and the present was maintained, preserved by attention to science and the human spirit. It’s good to know that synergy is living on, evidence that we have not forgot from where we came.
