There once was a tree ...

Warwick — One of Warwick’s oldest and most impressive residents will be leaving soon. Her roots run deep here in Warwick. She has been here for at least 150 years. People have admired her imposing height from throughout the village. She has given shelter to countless birds and critters throughout her time, not to mention being home base to an infinite number of children’s games. But her time with us is running out. The mighty elm tree on Cherry Street has died. Workers from Lewis Tree Service will be there within the next week or so to take down her once imposing branches and impressive trunk. In a village and town where people love their history and trees, this is truly a sad day. “We tried to keep the tree alive through the Shade Tree Committee,” said Mayor Michael Newhard. “Roger (Metzger) had an intense feeding done, but it didn’t survive.” The cause of death — Dutch Elm Disease. Newhard said Dutch Elm Disease has obliterated many elms in the United States. “Some older trees have survived but they are going one by one.” But something will survive. Dan Mack, a village resident and, according to the mayor, “a real tree man,” came to Newhard and said that when this happens in England, some sort of recognition is given to the tree. Newhard went to Warwick In Bloom. “And the more we spoke about the elm on Cherry Street, the more it sounded like the title of a book, a community book,” said Newhard. He contacted Rosemary Cooper, the library director, and Lynn Banghart, the children’s librarian. They were excited about the project, too. “It will be like a quilt,” said Newhard. “The idea is to weave everyone’s tree stories together like a quilt. I think it will be very telling. People in this community love trees — old and new. It’s part of who we are.” Everyone is encouraged to give their tree story to the library to incorporate into this book. It can be an original poem or a happy memory of a favorite tree. It can have something to do with our elm or any other tree. Cooper said people can e-mail their stories to the library at warref@rcls.org, or stop in the library. There will be forms available. That’s only part of it. The wood from the Elm on Cherry Street will be milled and used somewhere in the village. “We will use the wood from the upper part of the tree for either an Eagle Scout project or build something with it for the new library,” Newhard said. In addition, the trunk will be cut horizontally to see the actual age of the tree. Pieces will be given to schools, one will be in Village Hall, and another at the library that can be used to denote Warwick’s history. “It is one of the oldest trees in the village and one of the last elms we have,” said Newhard. The Shade Tree Committee is working to bring elm trees back to Warwick. Last year the village planted two disease-resistant elms — one in Stanley Deming Park and the other on the Hallowed Ground. But it will take a very long time to reach the stature of this Elm on Cherry Street.