The New Millennium
From New Haven CT to Tribune KS and the North-Central U.S. National Parks
Around the middle of last century, I was reflecting on the momentous celebrations held at the turning of the last century and the beginning of the twentieth, not just in this country, but throughout the world. Then I would think of the coming centennial moving us into the 21st century. Man, I would be 70 years old at that time, and I would be too old to have any fun. Well forget the worry, the world’s landscape had forever changed with the emergence of the “computer age”. There were serious issues involved in achieving a smooth transition starting with all things, the date. The problem was with the century notation. It was going to be 19 something all century long. So the 19 was considered a constant for the entire century. Month, day and year were variables, albeit sequential in nature. No one really considered the consequences, when the “19’s” needed to be changed to the “20’s”, and because of that, this was not a trivial issue for the computer programmers of the day. Well it turned out not to be as big a problem as thought, and the transition was pretty smoothly made. What it did do however, was to throw cold water on the new centennial celebrations to the point they were no more than a normal within-century New Years celebrations. So I have now saved at least 3-5 pages describing the wild centennial celebration, and we can get on with the otherwise great start to a new century and the coming decade VIII (2000-2010).
Right after the Christmas and New Year’s celebrations were over, the Athens Tree Committee was re-established as the Athens – Clarke County Community Tree Council, and guess who was the new Chairman? I had planned on this eventuality and was ready to go in the first quarter of 2000. I was fortunate to secure three grants of over $20,000 each over the next three years. These provided us computer capabilities, software custom written by George’s wife Karen, and the funds to establish a website “athenstrees.com. The funding also provided the project manager (me) a meager compensation to manage the programs and put the tree council on the map. Additionally, brother Dick invited all to his 50th anniversary and retirement from Yale University in early March. Of course Mom and I planned to attend, and so did Bruce. Turns out that Bruce had just purchased and installed “Family Tree Maker”, the famous software designed by the Mormons to trace the genealogy of families, and he was anxious to meet as many family members as he could to figure out who goes with who, and just how many family trees are involved here. He has made remarkable progress so far, and has uncovered some surprises. I guess it was appropriate under those circumstances that the reception was held in the Dinosaur Room of the Peabody Museum. Luckily, Mom’s brother Gordon still lived in Fairfield, about 25 miles from the New Haven festivities, and they provided us lodging for the event.
Previously in this retrospective, I discussed using Diane’s Tribune KS home as a jumping off point for further investigation of the world west and north of Kansas. This year we intended to do the same, but to the south. There was some question if we would be able to make the effort post-prostate surgery, but by early summer, we decided to make the trip and let it serve therapeutically toward my full recovery. Well it did that the first day out of Tribune. Our target destination that first day was Durango, but before we got there we took a slight side tour to check out the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. What a sight to behold. Here were great sand dunes with sand as fine as the beach, but with far different origins. Ocean, stream and river sand formed by water action. The Great Sand Dunes and other non-water-based sand, wind and other natural elements create the tiny particles making up the sand. In parts of this dune area, the parent material is highly magnetized making the following of a specific compass direction almost impossible. Because we had no plans to trek across the desert, we were not affected, but it was an interesting place to visit, but no need to spend a lot of time there. Since we were heading for Durango that day, we spent a couple of hours at the dunes, and headed south west to another Best Western motel and would you believe another Ore House (DVIII-1).
Historically Durango was a mining and smelting hub. From 1942-1963 a uranium mill operated and was one of the nations major smelting centers. Durango today is a bustling tourist center that has been transformed from a mining hub into the recreational gateway to the San Juan Mountains. We wished we could have stayed an extra day there too. The Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has operated continuously for over 125 years and today totes trainloads of tourism to the old mining town of Silverton. The name of this old mining town suggests that more than uranium was of interest in the area. We would have loved to take that train ride, but just didn’t know about it and therefore didn’t plan for it. Any of you readers find yourself in the area, take a half day and check it out. I might add here that if you go to some of these famous places, do a little homework and find out the history of the area so you can appreciate what it is you are seeing, not missing something you would like to see. For example, Durango was organized in the late 17th century (1888 I think) along the Denver/Rio Grande Railroad from which the name of the town was derived. Of course an important mining town would be totally dependent on railroad (or river) transportation to survive. One of the best places for a historical snap-shot of these areas would be the National Park, Monument, Preserve, etc. web sites. Those websites have not only printed materials but plenty of “mind blowing” photographs to help you decide which direction to go when you get there.
Leaving Durango (at least for now), we headed south-west to Mesa Verde. This site was not only famous for the mesa it was named after, but also the Pueblo Indian dwellers that lived there. Here you can walk around and see a lot, or be conventional and pay admission for a more formal and I am sure more complete tour of the site, We did not plan to spend a night in the area, so we did the walk around and found a lot of it’s charm, and did not need a guide to describe it. There were plenty of posters and signs describing the features being viewed. In any case, after my prostate surgery, the only vital thing I needed to know was where the nearest restroom was. In addition, our next night’s rest was in the small town of Springdale UT at the southern entrance to Zion Park. We would be entering through the eastern tunnel. Since we would be traveling right by Monument Valley, we wanted to at least get a peek at it (which really was a peek). Leaving Mesa Verde, we headed slightly southwest to Four Corners (state corners of CO/NE, New Mexico/SE, UT/NW, AZ /SW). We headed westerly just far enough south for us to get a good glimpse of Monument Valley. From there, we proceeded northwest crossing into Utah just before we reached the entrance to Zion Park.
As stunning as the landscape and features of this part of our great country were, none of it could hold a candle to what we were to witness in the next 3 days. Once again I would urge those who have an interest in this nation’s natural wonders, visit the Park’s/Monument’s website’s, or visit the “Chronicle” added as an appendix to this document. Entering the park from the east through a tunnel, we emerged to a dazzling display in full sunlight of cliffs and waterways coursing through the park. It was late afternoon, so we headed right through to the small town of Springdale where we had lodging reservations, and checked in for the night. The next day was a wonderful one to explore and to see some of the park’s wonders. Even at that, we covered only a fraction of the park’s area. Not only were the geologic features fantastic as expected, but the floral one was also dazzling, especially on some of the south facing cliff faces, where large displays of columbine could be seen flourishing in the warmer sunlight . The next morning we were off to visit Bryce Canyon National Park just northeast of Zion. Here we were to witness the sculpting abilities of nature both in terms of natural occurrence and erosion. There was clear evidence of the newly named park to the east of Bryce Canyon, Grand Staircase Escalante. The staircase refers to a series of cliffs stepping down to the Grand Canyon. From the White Cliffs, down a step to the Pink Cliffs, and then down to the Vermilion Cliffs and finally the Black Cliffs of the Grand Canyon. Running north/south through this fabulous staircase was the Escalante River. We never got over that far east, but all were evidenced from our vantage point (DVIII-2).
Spending one more night in Springdale, we headed out the next morning for home with our first stop near Boulder City, just east of Las Vegas NV (no dallying in LV, couldn’t afford it). Our destination was the Hoover Dam and Lake Meade. Not for a whole day, but as an interesting visit on the way home. We did take the time to park and go inside and view the inner workings of the facility, and for its time it was a masterpiece of engineering, and actual building. Built in the Columbia River valley, the site was one of great heights and sheer valley walls, providing a picturesque panorama for the whole area (DVIII-2). The last stop for the day and at that time, we thought the last major stop on our way home, was the Petrified Forest National Park. One thing to notice about the landscape in eastern Arizona, is the extensive grazing done by various species of antelope. They sort of take the place of cattle in many areas here in the midwest. We traveled on I-40, so the passage was pretty quickly done across the state. The stop at the Petrified NP was well worth it. Not only were there petrified logs and stumps, but several forms of mineralized material, such as quartz. The most outstanding was agates of various sizes, shapes and colors. Probably the most amazing was the formation of an agate bridge (DVIII-2).
After spending the night, we got on the road and drove through the Texas panhandle into Oklahoma City and decided to stop to see the site of our most recent domestic terrorism attack on the Murrah Federal Building in that city by Timothy McVeigh in 1995. Although over 100 people were killed (many of them children) and a very touching memorial created for the survivors and for visitors,very little is remembered of it nationally. Unfortunately that event was well minimized on September 11, 2001 with the World Trade Center destruction by two loaded commercial aircraft. The thousands of casualties in that event completely overshadowed the Oklahoma City bombing, and by so doing rendered it secondary except to the families and loved ones affected. To them it couldn’t be any worse, one or a thousand. The death of a loved one or relative is just as devastating for each individual. The rest of the way home to Athens was uneventful, and boy, there is no place like home, and we made it through a wonderful trip to the beautiful west-central part of the country. Now it is time to jump into the new possibilities and challenges presented by the brand new century. But first, we have just a finishing touch to the year 2,000.The finishing touch was a trip to Pensacola Naval Air Station for the 25th anniversary of the Navy Hurricane Hunters. The Navy had already turned over the responsibility for hurricane track to the U.S. Air Force. They flew high altitude aircraft and dropped sensor instruments down into the storm to acquire the data we gathered at far less risk. This event was held at the U.S. Navy Air Museum. It was one of those surprising events. Going in, I was more-or-less expecting not much, but was I ever wrong. The museum was fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed our experience there. Also to my surprise, we actually ran into personnel we knew while we served our short term (4 years). A suitable exclamation point for a short career.
By the time the the millennial year 2000 arrived, we had been in Athens for about 10 years, had completed my first multi-country project along Mars Hill Road (a major highway transecting both Athens-Clarke and Oconee Counties) and had served on the UGA Forestry School faculty during the last five years of that decade. So it was in 2000, I was getting word out about my availability and my new company was to be Bob Barker &Associates. The first job I accepted was (unfortunately) a non-paying volunteer one, Chairman of the Athens Clarke County Community Tree Council (ACCTC). My first responsibility was to preside over the planting of a centennial tree (a red oak) on the edge of the N. Oconee River in Dudley Park bordering Oak St. (US 78). Although I had been a member since 1990, my work/teaching commitments restricted my participation. However I had given a lot of thought to what needs to be done to make the CTC more relevant to the citizens of this county. Over the next three years we managed to secure three annual grants from the Georgia Forestry Commision of $20,000 each. I was able to charge some time as project manager, which helped. Over that three year period we secured adequate computer capability and analytical software provided by Natural Resources Consultants (NRC). We also contacted the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and created CRT as a tax exempt 5013C organization. This would allow us to pursue some of our objectives while recovering some of the costs. I also learned a lot. I spent several parts of several weeks working with a web-page designer and we really came up with a nifty web page. The web page gave us an effective vehicle to promote our most critical projects. We also had great support from the county government. The Central Services Division main function was to provide services to the other divisions within the county. The tree council fell nicely within the Landscape Management section of Central Services.
One of those important projects was to resurrect a long abandoned champion tree program. Jimmy Mock, a tree loving guy began this program well before the reestablishment of the CTC, and fortunately maintained pretty good records. It took some time to run down all his candidates, validate their dimensions and pin-point their location. A fair number of his candidates no longer existed having been cut down or otherwise destroyed. Often there were runner-up specimens we could use to fill in until a better candidate was found. Once the existing trees had been located and condition noted, new trees were ready to be added. With some 60 or so trees to start with, we built the inventory to more than 135 specimens. After publishing the results, if I knew nothing else, I knew Clarke County like the back of my hand.
After my brief teaching career, and completion of a few major projects, my main efforts lay in volunteer work, primarily the CTC. The situation was we were free to do what we wanted to do. One of the first things on the list was to revisit Jekyll Island. We had made a visit there several years ago. It was still a pristine state park at the time, but serious discussion was being made regarding the efficiency of that policy. Plans were being made to construct a new and elegant convention center and to revamp the hotel and shopping profile of the whole island. The word “pristine” looked to be short lived. Well for this trip we were not disappointed in any way. We didn’t stay at the Inn, but in a Comfort Inn right on the beach, with two nice swimming pools. When on these barrier islands (Jekyll, St.Simons) we found it better to use the beach for walking, but for swimming, the pools were the best for us at this point in our lives. The Inn had a great coffee shop at an upper deck level that had great coffee and appropriate pastries to go with it, and was often our first stop of the day. We will revisit Jekyll further in this retrospective, but for now, we were convinced that future trips would be undertaken to this State Park.
About this time, Bruce started a new venture not far from his Cedar Shoals frame shop, but traveling in a completely different direction: a coffee shop called “Cups Coffee Café. This venture was carried out for almost the whole decade of the 80’s before being sold to another popular coffee house. The entry and front room was rather narrow with tables in front of a bar running back along the left wall, a walkway to its right, and then a single line of tables along the opposite side. At the back of the room there was a door in the right wall that led into what was labeled as the Seattle Room. The coffee shop served Seattle Coffee as its primary coffee blend. Oh, don’t let me forget the scones offered to augment the drink of choice (coffee, tea). The Seattle Room was a large room once used for storage. It was equipped with a long conference table, many smaller tables and plenty of seating spaces along the walls. It was a popular spot for UGA students for get-togethers or (perish the thought) studying. I know I planned many of my road trips so I was sure to pass by Cups going or coming.
On September 5, 2001, I was at a conference in Orlando FL, and while in my motel room reflected on the trip to Bucksport Maine Mom and I were going to make next week. Turns out my old friend and colleague from St. Regis, Bob Elliott and wife Jane were to celebrate their 50 years together in a week or so. Our plan was to fly from Jacksonville to Boston, rent a car and drive up the coast to Bucksport, right on the banks of the Penobscot River. I thought that this would be a good time to get our plane tickets, and so I did by phone, using Bob and Joyce as the ticket holders (no different than usual). The flight time would be the following Wednesday, September 12th from Jacksonville to Boston’s Logan airport. Arrived home for that next weekend figuring we would have a couple of days to get ready for our trip. Tuesday morning the day before our departure, I was in our bedroom doing something (maybe making the bed) and I heard mom shout from downstairs and I turned on the TV just to see a large puff of smoke over one of the twin towers, and then to my amazement and horror, I saw a plane heading right for the second tower and bam!!, and a huge ball of fire. Couldn’t believe my eyes. Well of course that was the now infamous 9-11 terrorist attack on New York, Washington DC and Pennsylvania. Well that was there and we were down here in Jacksonville and we had a flight to catch in the morning, and we did. Of course we flew into Boston’s Logan having no idea at that time that is where the planes the terrorist commandeered originated. While the facility was abuzz with activity, we figured that was a normal mid-week gaggle at a busy airport. We just snagged our baggage and went to the Avis Rent-a-Car desk, secured a car and headed north to Maine. We had a great 2-3 days before we headed back the next Sunday(DVIII-3). The trip back was not one I would ever want to repeat. Problem? You bet. Remember I had my plane ticket made out to Bob Barker as I always did. Well they had the Logan airport on lock-down by the time we got there. Of course our tickets were checked, and when “Bob Barker ” was nowhere in any other or my id’s (drivers license, University ID, etc.), I was automatically a suspect of some sort. I was passed from room to room, interviewed by airport authorities, other Federal authorities permeating the facilities. We were delayed about 5 hours, and missed our flight, of course. I just guess I looked like a “near eastern” terrorist. Boy was I happy to get home, and poor mom, her credentials all checked out, so had to have all her arrangements changed to meet mine if we wanted to get home together. Lesson too late learned: no nick-names on official documents.
But on to happier times. In 2002, both Mom and I celebrated our 50th anniversary for the college class of 1952. Because of my 4 year Navy tour during the Korean War, I didn’t graduate until 1956. But I was not that enthusiastic about reunions anyway. I tended to be forward thinking, but Mom still had friends in which she kept In touch, and she wanted to participate in the Beaver College reunion. So we did (DVIII-5). It was a fun trip and Mom had a ball. Fortunately most of her friends had toted along respective husbands, and luckily, we got along fine. One of the wonders was the change of campus with the college becoming co-educational, and elevated to a university status and now named Arcadia University. More buildings and athletic facilities to accommodate expansion of athletic activities. The original college was located in two geographical areas: Jenkintown PA and Glenside PA. Then as now, Jenkintown was mostly administratively oriented and Glenside was more student learning, living and social activities. Mom used to always talk about “Grey Towers” , a castle-like structure dominating the Glenside campus. It was both educationally interesting and fun to see and explore. Turned out to be a great trip as opposed to the disaster I was envisioning.
Later in the year( summer precisely) there was what was becoming an annual event, the 4th of July with Bruce and Pam. Always quite a crowd in attendance, with daylight hours occupied by an almost continuous badminton tournament, or frisbee golf match. After daylight was time for the fireworks off the lake’s dam. It was a fun celebration and one that seemed to be repeated for several years, though I suspect 3 of 4 at most. However, most of this cannot hold a candle to what awaited us in the following year – 2003. Of course you know, our (Mom and Dad’s) 50th wedding anniversary. It seemed like one of those things that sort of sneaks up on you. We celebrated our anniversary every year, but the fact we would finally be celebrating our 50th was a little breath-taking.
I suppose the most striking aspect of this event was how little Mom and I had anything to do with how it was pulled off. Most of all, the people who made their way to Athens had actually found their accommodations. Of course our immediate family (Karen, Bruce, Diane and George + spouses and siblings) were all there as were my brother Dick, his wife Sela with my cousins, Sela + daughters; Lauren and Ellen. and Kirt all the way up here from Panama, his current home. Mom’s brother Lou and wife Geneveve, made it down as well as Bob Elliott, my old St. Regis friend and mentor. There were actually enough golf swinging folks we could get in a nice round of golf at the UGA golf course (DVIII-4). The anniversary itself was on a Friday, which meant we had a “long weekend” anniversary (a gross understatement).
Anniversary events were spread primarily between three major locations: Bruce’s house and property in Arnoldsville GA, some 15 miles east of downtown Athens. Some early meals were offered here, as well as exercise workouts on the badminton courts. The wooded property with a lake in the background became the favored place for family pictures (DVIII-6). What a perfect venue for an event like this and a sound tip of the hat goes out to Bruce and Pam for the efforts they made to pull this extravaganza off both at home and in town. I say this because the second location was Cups Caffe on Barnett Shoals Rd. some 2 miles from our house. Here we had a delightful cocktail hour in the Seattle Room, and finally the third location was sort of two in one. We all met in Bruce’s Athens Art and Frame where we were all impressed with the work generated at this location. Almost next door and on the second floor overlooking Prince Ave. We had an exquisite anniversary dinner at the East-West Bistro restaurant.
Now we had a fair number of folks attending and they were lodged around town, but mostly in the Holiday Inn Express just west of downtown. George (bless his bones) provided transportation for many. That of course included a brief town tour and monologue that would make a New Orleans cab driver blush. But all enjoyed the experience. Remember, this was all before the sad era of the “fact checker”. No longer can a simple event be turned into a fascinating story-ah what a shame. More than one person remarked on things they never knew about Athens (nor did anyone else for that matter). It was a bit of a wild ride for all of us, starting with the event itself in June, 2003. And yes you are correct, our anniversary was on April 25th of that year. So how come June? This was the earliest Diane and crew could make it out east all at once. And they all wanted to be there. Now this pre-activity was exciting in its own right. Diane and the entourage flew into Chattanooga. Mom and I met them up there and spent a few days dazzling our “flat earth” Kansas contingent with the marvels of the aquarium and other Chattanooga attractions, but most spectacular for the kids were Rock City and the mountains. After all, the kid’s impression of hills in Kansas was when they were overlooking a prairie dog colony. After Chattanooga, Diane and kids spent time with older sister KB in Atlanta, where they took in a Braves game, visited 6 Flags Over Georgia amusement park, the World of Coke, and Stone Mt.
As a finale’, we along with the Kansas contingent spent 3 or 4 days at Panama City Beach. The beach here is one of Mom’s and my favorite spots. The highly granulated sand made a perfect beach and the Gulf waters a beautiful turquoise blue. Except for Diane, the beach to the Kansas group was almost as indescribable as the mountains were. What a wonderful way to end a great week of celebration (DVIII-11). Believe it or not, this was early in the decade, and we had plenty facing us that will be fun to review.
From early 2000, I had been working diligently with the Athens Community Tree Council (ACTC) in developing their automated capabilities, including the purchase of a computer with appropriate peripheral equipment, including printer and scanner. We also worked with a local software company and developed a rather unique web page. In a series of three grants from the Georgia Forestry Commission We accomplished a lot to the point we could pick up a former attempt to develop a record of champion tree species for the county. During this time, my friend and colleague, Roger Cauthen had hired a new Forestry School graduate, Andrew Saunders who’s job description included the Tree Council. We hit it off well and spent considerable time in the field and before long we were on the same page regarding the role of the CTC. Andrew soon replaced Roger as Landscape manager while Roger moved up to ultimately become the director of Central Services for a year or two.Then for reasons not well explained he left the Athens Clarke County Government and took a similar position in Jefferson, the seat of Jackson County. It wasn’t long before the value of young Andrew Saunders became apparent to ACC government and Andrew was moved to the county headquarters, and before long he had taken Roger’s place as Director of Central Services.
Word of our successful development of the ACCTC must have spread. We received an invitation to present a paper on the ACCTC program at the annual National Arbor Day Convention being held in Nebraska City NB. Athens Clarke County was interested in the public relations falling out of such an opportunity, and was willing to underwrite the trip. At this period of our lives, the kids were either in school or into other activities, marriages for example. In any case, Mom was available and anxious to join in the trip. The trip would include a stop in Tribune on the way back. Tribune was a bit further west, maybe a half a day, so it presented a good opportunity. Since we were flying into Manhattan KS, the drive was doable. So we were off to Nebraska City where we were booked into the fabulous National Arbor Day Foundation’s Lodge. Most if not all the energy required to support such a facility was provided “in-house”. Many fire wood tree orchards had been established on the property, some experimental, but others functional, providing the energy source to provide all the necessary electricity the lodge would need. Many of the orchards supported wind-break tree species such as hemlock, Cryptomeria japonica (Japanese cypress, I have several outside my window next to the retaining pond), Leyland cypress, red cedar, loblolly pine, etc. Need to be careful here, some species can become annoyingly invasive if not closely tended. My presentation was well received and all three parties, ACCTC, ACC and NADF I think benefited from the experience.
Since we were close to the Kansas State line, we decided to head for Manhattan and pay a little visit to Jake. Turns out the university was hosting a parents weekend highlighted by a Saturday night “murder” mystery dinner. Diane had other commitments for that event, so we went as her surrogates. During the dinner, the murder mystery (a hideous poisoning case) detective wandered the room explaining what happened and almost certainly the culprit was in the room as he spoke. In a situation where lots of people are gathered, there is an ambient buzz of conversation, with occasional lulls. It was in such a lull, that Mom decided to make some snide remark about the whole process. This is not Mom, my Joyce, but it was and of course the “detective” heard her loud and clear, and she was pegged as a prime suspect and was ushered up to a table set on stage. The “detective” made a few more rounds and gathered two or three other candidates, went on to interrogate them. Mom was characterized as “Big Momma ” part of a motorcycle gang. It was well done, and a lot of fun. I thought Jake would bust a gut laughing. Me? Under the table. It was a night hard to forget, and the next day as we walked the campus with Jake, a surprising number of people came up to us, introduced themselves and remarked how Mom handled the interrogation. Poor Diane missed a fine show.
After a few days with Diane, it was time to get home since we seemed to have moved into one of those transitional periods in growing up (and out). Our visit with Diane, made us realize that these grandkids are growing like weeds. Other evidence of the passage of time, was Alyssa (KB and Barry) was a senior at the University of Georgia, and Robin (like Jake) was a freshman in Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville GA (Not to be mistaken for the Millidgeville Institute for the Mentally Depraved).
After such a year, you might think the next 360 days might be a bit more restrained. Well it started out that way until we found out Diane and new boyfriend Greg Brown were to be married in mid-July. So it was after enjoying Bruce and Pam’s annual 4th of July bash, we once again headed for Tribune for the big event. Well you might think since it is the second time around things would be fairly low key. In a town the size of Tribune, when a well known preschool teacher hooks up with an upper class math teacher and football coach, that is an event. The eastern crowd didn’t disappoint. Bruce, Pam and Greta had previous commitments. Robin hitched a ride with KB. From Alabama, George, Jason and Ellen headed west by air, and were due in soon. I have to say here (maybe never again), bless the new age of cell-phone communication. Also, I might mention where most matrimonial celebrations are usually exclusive affairs, that doesn’t work in a small town where everyone knows each other. This wedding seemed more inclusive. Not only that but many had assigned jobs. Ellen and Caitlin were the receptionists, the pianist was Tammy (Greg’s daughter), candle lighters were Jason and one of the Wilson boys. The bridal assistant and bouquet holder was Diane’s Leah. Of course the ushers including Heath Brown, Greg’s son, Jake, Josh, Levi and Stephen from Diane’s house were present in sharply dressed attire. The wedding was preceded by a gala rehearsal dinner hosted by Bill and Lisa Wilson at their rural estate in the small town of Selkirk just east of Tribune (almost on the Central Time/Mountain Time line). From the day at the pool in the beginning, followed by a fabulous rehearsal dinner, and finally a flawlessly executed wedding, it seemed all of Tribune had a wonderful time. And I might add so did all of us. Welcome indeed, Greg and Diane Brown.
No question, the first half of the decade was busy and the second half was looking about the same. Starting right off in summer of 2006. Don’t know if I mentioned it before, but the George/KRO relationship has completely collapsed. While Mom and I liked KRO, that didn’t really matter. It was their relationship to fix or abandon. The latter was chosen and George had been seen with an up and coming horticulturist working for the City of Columbus. It was interesting because a month or so earlier, we were holding an urban tree management symposium with a group in sort of a round table discussion. I noticed one name scratched from the participant list, one Rachel Buice, a professional horticulturist working for the City of Columbus, and I was looking forward to her presentation. Although Columbus was a larger urban area than Athens, they both held urban characteristics, and we could learn much from what they had done. But not so this week. A few weeks later we got a call from George that he was coming over and he would buy us lunch (uh-oh!). During lunch the story came out. Without placing blame in any particular direction (to his credit), George informed us the marriage to KRO was all but finished (not quite as simple as that), nonetheless, the marriage was over. He said he would be bringing Rachel to Athens in a week or two and he would bring her around to meet and greet. Mom and I remained open-mouthed but not totally surprised. George often remarked the most difficult part of all this was breaking the news to “Mom and Dad”. With Bruce and Susie, and a little less with Diane and Jeff, the responses to the news were well executed sighs of relief. For KRO however, it was a bit sad, but their decision, and we rolled with some questions but no criticism -“gotta do what you gotta do-.” The most astonishing thing was this was the same
Rachel Buice, who was a “no show” last year in Athens who I wanted to talk to about horticultural possabilities. Too often grandiose plans for parks and other public venues fall far short of adequate plans for populating the park with comprehensive alternatives for vegetative cover. Now I would have that chance (one of these days).What I do know is over the past year we have added a loving son in law and daughter in law(“one each”). In George’s life, I have seen the addition of a workable hierarchical balance so nice to see and essential in a successful relationship. But shoot, they haven’t even married yet, although it was on the calendar for mid-2006.
Imagine that: two clicks on my keyboard “Return” button brings us right to 2006. Although we passed a few things we will cover later, June 2006 was the highlight month of the year. The official date of the wedding was June 10, 2006, but the festivities included most of the week. Before we go further, a little background is required. Upon moving to Tallassee AL from the tropics of Panama City (Gulf Coast) AL, George had already established a viable consulting forestry client list, but found that management of property took more than harvesting and planting trees. The typical landowner, many of whom were quite well off, required more than timber management in their consultant. Realizing this, George enrolled in the MBA (Master of Business Administration) program at the University of Alabama – Birmingham (UAB). Two fellow students (plus one wife) became hip-joining best friends with George during their matriculation toward the coveted MBA degree. First, the single guy Lee Greer was the chief financial officer of the local Tallassee Hospital, and then his close friend Tim Needham, a country dentist from Eclectic AL (a few miles west of Tallassee) and his pretty wife Suzanne, who served as Tim’s secretary and hygienist. To be fair, Suzanne was not omni-present but when she was, she brought her own sphere of light. Now I bring all this up because Lee is a local resident, with a considerable family located in this part of the State. The duo of Lee and Tim has been reduced by George as “LIM”. This of course, supplied some ancillary perks, one of which was a 3 bedroom one story house on the banks of Lake Martin, a substantial body of water some 10 miles or so northwest of Tallassee. We checked in there a few days before the wedding and what a great venue it was. From the Barker standpoint, most everyone showed up, which includes the Brown’s and May’s (DVIII-10). I think from these panoramic views, there was a fair crowd at least for the Lake Martin part of the festivities. It was certainly the perfect “steam” blow off before the wedding in a few days. It was there at George and Rachel’s pond-side house and under a magnificent Live Oak tree where the ceremony was held. The night before, a traditional Rehearsal Dinner was held at the local golf club with appropriate drinks and toasts to commemorate the occasion. It really served as the ideal “meet and greet” ice – breaker such that the next day of the wedding, no one felt they were amongst strangers.
The wedding ceremony, performed by Rachel’s Dad Conrad Ross, was well done with Rachel’s two daughters Emilie and Sara Buice in attendance. George’s two, Ellen and Jason also participated in crowd management, while Barry May (Karen) handled the field parking situation. He is the one who enjoyed maximum exercise since every time I looked he was sprinting from one side of the field to the other trying to stay ahead of the traffic flow. That’s right, there was a good turn out and it was fortunate that there was only a few feet to walk between the wedding and reception being held in the house next to the tree. While the rehearsal dinner was alive with anticipation, the reception was a bit more sedate (more eating than drinking) enjoying a job well done. All in all, quite a week.
But the year was not quite done with us, as fall was approaching with speed. Like our visits to Jekyll Island, our fall trek to north Georgia and the apple orchards seemed like they went on for years, but in reality, probably about 5. One of our favorite events was the annual Ellijay Apple Festival. Often, Karen (KB) would meet with us and we would make a day out of it. Not illustrated here was another favorite apple destination was Mercers Orchards, just north of Blue Ridge, near the Tennessee State Line in McCaysville. The variety of apples was stunning, but mom and I really fell for the Pink Lady. My friend Roger Cauthen, the Athens-Clarke County Landscape manager also had extensive apple tree plantings representing a variety of apples. He suggested we try one, but wait until late in the season when that apple variety was best. Haven’t had a good apple since being at Celebration Village, let alone those delectable fried apple pies to have for lunch and/or take home (can’t remember if any made it home or not).
My involvement with the CTC had been reduced of late, and I was about to step down, but I wanted to complete my Champion Tree listing and get it published (printed out). Somewhere over 130 tree species were included. Our address in Athens was 155 Sandstone Dr., and we shared that address with a Chalk Maple (Acer leucoderme). The tree was there for years before it was even noticed. It was located right on the southeastern boundary of the property in a small copse of trees of a variety of species including red maple, water oak and a few loblolly pine. The dominant tree in the group was a large (when we left) Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda). Its size (about 16” in diameter and some 80 feet tall) really made it stand out amongst all the smaller hardwoods and pine. One fall day I was approaching home from the southeast, and noticed a tree with dazzling foliage amongst the group. Still it wasn’t until the following spring when I was brushing the area out of undesirable and or dead understory that I kept running into a real low branch of a tree of special interest. Yes, it was one of brilliant foliage. Looking at the leaves, they were not of the red maple species, but miniature replicas of the sugar maple (Acer saccharum) with the 5 pointed leaves about 1/3 the size. The two seeded samara was in the shape of a tight U, just like A. saccharum, but in miniature. The bark of the tree was sort of a dirty white with lateral streaks of dark bark (not very attractive). What I had in front of me was a very nice Chalk Bark Maple (Acer leucoderme).DVIII-13
This discovery reminded us of the old saying “Absence of mind ignores the obvious” (my version). In this case it was the unique plant population on the grounds of the old homestead. that wasn’t fully appreciated. We have been a resident of 155 Sandstone Dr. for over 30 years and significant changes have been implemented. To put this in perspective, the reader is directed to an illustration in Plate VII-3 showing the house and front yard we were moving into (as compared to what we were leaving in Virginia). I show this to emphasize that the changes, natural and man-made over 30 years are substantial, and with luck, positive. While these illustrations are pretty much self explanatory, it does highlight how a landscape can grow over three decades. Looking at Plate DVII-3- the Southward view, that was the house into which we were about to move. Note the two trees in the foreground. They were two of three water oaks planted parallel to the street. The third tree (not visible) is located in the wood lot noted in the distance. Now this small woodlot or “copse” is unique in its own way. In this neighborhood (as in most) property boundaries were highlighted by narrow vegetated (trees, shrubs) strips separating the ownerships. Seldom managed beyond necessary measures to curtail spread or eradicate undesirable vegetation such as poison ivy. In our new house, this strip was on our property, with the property line mostly on our neighbors edge of the woodland strip. Our side of this strip originated in a woodlot occupying the back 1/3 of the property, and continued southeastward toward Sandstone Dr. It passed south of the house by some 20’ (where the air conditioning units and a few shrubs were located) and proceeded to about 10 feet beyond the house. Here it took a 90 degree turn northward to the front porch, where it made another 90 degree turn back southward toward the street and ran to within 15 feet of the street, and turned another 90 degrees and on back to the property line. This copse consisted of an eclectic mix of trees and shrubs, and was a great place to try things out. The area occupied some 1/3 of the front yard. The second third of the front lawn was actually grass (for the most part). It was