MIDDLEBURY, Vt. — A majestic Norway spruce tree that has graced the east edge of campus for close to 150 years is dying and needs to be cut down.
The Class of 1860 Spruce, located east of Old Chapel and next to the entrance to the new library, has witnessed inaugurations, commencements, weddings, funerals, and countless other milestones in the College’s history. But the tree was struck by lightning in 2006, and developed a deep crack that runs from the base of the trunk to the top half of the tree.
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| College Horiculturalist Tim Parsons and the fissure in the trunk of the spruce tree. |
College Horticulturalist Timothy Parsons took steps last fall to try to save the tree, including deep-root feeding, “vertical mulching,” and removing dead wood and loose bark — all to no avail. The tree has not recovered.
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| The nearly bare Class of 1860 spruce still towers over the quadrangle. |
Yet the tradition of the Class of 1860 will live on. In May, a group of Middlebury undergraduates met with Parsons and Associate Professor of Anthropology Michael Sheridan and together they developed the idea of using the wood from the tree to make a bench for the new library. As Sheridan said, “It would be good for the library, good for managing the landscape, and good for alumni relations.” Dean of Library and Information Services Barbara Doyle-Wilch and Stewardship Officer Michele Almeida agreed, and College Carpenter Gerald Tetrault was selected to build a stunning new piece of spruce furniture. Not much is known about the history of the tree except that it was planted by the Class of 1860 and that it soared to nearly 90 feet in height in the quadrangle east of Old Stone Row. The members of the class — five of whom served in the Civil War — must have taken pride in the Norway spruce (Picea abies). The stone plaque commemorating the original planting was “lost” for years. It was uncovered during the construction of the library, and will go with the new bench or be placed in the College Archives.
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| The '1860' stone marker was discovered under the lawn about 25 feet from the tree. |
The tree will be cut down between the end of the Language Schools summer session in August and the start of the fall semester in September. The historic spruce will be milled into lumber by Tom Lathrop of Bristol, Vt.