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Tree rooted in Mt. Hope and in the hearts of countless admirers

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The iconic and symbolic landmark that is known as the Mt. Hope tree is a beautiful subject to photograph, paint or simply experience on any day, in any season. It stood, as always, a peaceful picturesque silhouette in the fall sunlight and light breeze on Tuesday, Oct. 16. (Photo by Correne Martin)

A few of the snapshots taken by admirers and shared on Facebook. By Shelly Huberd Stagman (black and white) and Aarik Lee.

By Correne Martin

You might say it’s your tree. 

A landmark. A solitary silhouette on the horizon. A sign of positive energy, strength, comfort, coming and going. 

No matter its symbolism for you, the Mt. Hope tree is, perhaps, one of the most cherished and recognized life forms in all of the area. 

“I’m still flabbergasted that everybody feels it’s their tree,” delighted Lynda Coon, one of the countless passers-by whose family has claimed ownership over the icon. For several years, Coon has also instructed local painting classes, where the Mt. Hope tree is depicted on canvas by amateur artists. 

The regionally-famous marker evokes stories and meaningful sensations for nearly all who pass it, according to those 2,500 followers on The Mt. Hope Tree’s very own Facebook page. In addition to paintings of it, the solitary tree and its isolated surroundings are a popularly-photographed image as well.

Estimated to be about 70 to 75 years old, by Dan Keyes, 20-year certified arborist of Keyes Trees, this tangible “tree of life” is, however, dying. 

“The tree is coming to the end of its life. It looks like a car took out the bark and damaged its cambium layer,” Keyes pointed out, adding that the adjacent farm field [herbicide] has been detrimental to the health of the American elm tree as well. “It also has Dutch elm disease, but there’s not enough bark or good cambium layer tissue to transmit the chemical up into the tree to treat it. There’s no saving it.”

Keyes said the location where the elm is growing also creates problems for the tree. Being on the side of a hill, it doesn’t have ample soil, and the tree doesn’t receive enough water because any precipitation falling there runs down into the ditch.

“It’s the right tree in the wrong place,” he added. 

Keyes guessed the tree was a volunteer “planting,” a seed dropped there by a bird.

To the contrary, according to recollection from Carl Laufenberg, 84, of Mt. Hope, that tree may have begun its life as part of Lady Bird Johnson’s agenda: Beautify America. He remembers the First Lady coming to the small town and planting a few trees along the highway in that vicinity.

“It may have been one of the originals,” Laufenberg said, sharing that he once treed a raccoon in the Mt. Hope tree.

Keyes is unsure whether the tree has enough “hope” on its side to keep it around for awhile. “It could last a couple hundred years yet, if it was in the right spot, not in such a highly-traveled area,” he said. 

“I feel sorry about it,” he continued. “I tried to do something several years ago. But it took awhile to get ahold of the right owner and then get the chemical guy there to evaluate whether it could be treated or not.” He said the Mt. Hope tree, as it stands today, doesn’t have enough substantial passageways to carry up the treatment chemical that would combat its disease.

Keyes explained that, about 100 years ago, Dutch elm disease came over from Europe, started on the East Coast and then swept across the United States. In the 1950s, it came to the Midwest. But communities “didn’t even try to fight the disease, which was horribly effective in eradicating elms.” He said, when the trees started dying, people just took them down.

He further noted, tree experts in Rochester have been active in treating American elms and, thus, have saved many of them. “They literally have re-engineered genetics and developed a different strain of elm tree that’s resistant to that,” Keyes stated. “Twenty to 30 years ago, you never heard of them being saved.”

While the Mt. Hope tree isn’t one that can be salvaged, there’s no indication it will be removed anytime soon. 

The Department of Transportation owns and the Grant County Highway Department is contracted to maintain the right-of-way in which the tree stands, according to Bob Hanifl, DOT regional maintenance roadway engineer. He shared that, just because the tree’s life is winding down, there’s no reason to take it down now. It’s the DOT’s intent to leave it alone, unless it were to become a traffic hazard. 

“It’s located out of the clear zone of 26 feet,” Hanifl said. “Though, once it dies, it will go quickly.” 

When that fateful day comes, not only will the tree’s admirers lose a symbol that has been tied to so many individual journeys of familiarity, optimism and travel, but also the landscape and its role of connective significance will change. That stretch of Highway 18 will become just another ordinary roadway. 

“This tree has its own special meaning to everyone who is aware of its presence,” cited April Laufenberg, who grew up just a few miles down the highway from the Mt. Hope tree and started its Facebook page in 2011. “For some, it’s a landmark that is tied to the feeling of being almost home. For others, it’s a comforting friend that says ‘hi’ on a long stretch of road during common travels. Still, to others, it’s a great chance to photograph their favorite tree and display it for others to enjoy.”

Laufenberg said she started the Facebook page merely because of her personal love of the tree, and because she drove by one day and had the idea to create a place where people could log on and share how they were drawn to the landmark. 

“This was a perfect chance to document its meaning in others’ lives,” she said.  

Since then, Laufenberg has been astonished at the number of posts about the tree’s association to families and to life “as we know it.” She remarked that many people call it the “Tree of Life.”

A hobbyist photographer, Laufenberg has found the Mt. Hope tree to be an easy subject for creating keepsake memories of her “childhood, family and roots,” in Mt. Hope.

“It can be used as a central focal point or used as an offset part of the scenery. Being on a ridge allows the great opportunity for sunrise and sunset pictures or for interesting cloud arrangement photographs,” she added, noting that utilizing the Mt. Hope water tower in the background can provide unique identification, placing it specifically in the minds of those who know it best. 

She declared, “It’s not just a tree. It’s the Mt. Hope tree.”

To share your stories, photos and artwork with other enthusiasts, find The Mt. Hope Tree on Facebook.

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