Community Mourns Loss of Beech Tree

Exeter townspeople, Academy faculty and students alike gathered at the base of the great copper beech tree on the Southside Quad last Thursday. Those in attendance honored the tree’s long history and prepared to bid it farewell: On Friday, the tree was chopped down. Children played beneath the tree, and at one point in the ceremony, a young girl ran forward to embrace its trunk, exclaiming, “Goodbye, tree!”English instructor Todd Hearon opened the ceremony with a brief eulogy. “I tried to establish the context of thegathering,” he said.“Here we are, in front of this tree, that has been a member of our community for longer than any of us individually,” Hearon told the crowd, welcoming all to the ceremony. When he had finished delivering his remarks, he introduced the Academy’s Director of Facilities, Roger Wakeman, who explained to the community that the tree had been severely damaged in a storm, and that in order to ensure the community’s safety from falling branches, the tree had to be removed. Wakeman also described the Academy’s plans to keep the memory of the tree alive, perhaps by milling and seasoning the wood to build a Harkness table for the Library. He also explained the community’s plans to plant a new tree, a “teenage beech” that has since been planted in the old tree’s soil.Next, English instructor Duncan Holcomb read aloud an eloquent speech he had written in honor of the tree. He drew on his own memories and described sitting on a swing that hung from the tree with his wife, watching the sun set over the Phelps Science Center, and watching his children and other fac-brats playing tag at the tree’s base. He wove tales of Exeter history into his piece, recounting the story of Abraham Lincoln’s son, Robert, who attended the Academy 151 years ago. “Feed and foster, and hope and pray and work for the sake of posterity, so that what you plant will grow and flourish so well that you won’t be around long enough yourself to see it all,” he read.“Robert outlived old Abe by sixty years, this tree by one hundred and sixty,” he continued. “And for that, despite our sadness in losing this beautiful creature today, we should be happy.”Upper Alyssa Kuwana expressed appreciation for Holcomb’s speech. “It encompassed the history of the tree, along with his personal reasons on why the tree is sentimental for him,” she said.During the ceremony, English Instructor Jason BreMiller read two selections from John Muir’s writing, both on the subject of wind and trees. Reverend Heidi Heath shared a poem she had adapted from a piece by Maya Angelou, and the Academy’s archivist, Peter Nelson, described the Library’s plans to gather stories of the tree for posterity’s sake, encouraging all to check out the display that he is putting together. To conclude the ceremony, Hearon played the guitar and those in attendance sang along to the gospel song, “I Shall Not Be Moved.”Lower Christina Quinn was glad to get the chance to pay her respects to the tree. “I think everyone appreciated that there were Exonians from all different classes coming together to say a final goodbye to the tree,” she said.Senior Peter Chinburg, who also attended the ceremony, described the tree as a “distinguishing mark” of Exeter. However, he remained optimistic. “Life goes on,” Chinburg said. “I just hope they do something cool with the space and the wood.”Hearon expressed gratitude for all who came to honor the life of the tree. “My favorite part was seeing the people who made time to come to the ceremony, for whom the tree has clearly been an iconic presence for many of the people,” he said. “Many of the people were elders of the community who as children probably used to climb that tree, so they understood the importance of rootedness.”