A tree grows in McEuen
Photos: LISA JAMES/Press Matt Voss, center, and Tony Muse of North West Plant Health Care dig a hole to plant a 12-foot red oak in McEuen Park in Coeur d’Alene for Arbor Day on Friday. The planting was sponsored by the Lt. George Farragut Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, who were on hand for the dedication of the tree.
LISA JAMES/Press Louisa St. John Durking,left, and Jeanice Clinton Roman watch with fellow members of the Lt. George Farragut Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution as a 12-foot red oak is planted in McEuen Park in downtown Coeur d’Alene for Arbor Day on Friday.
Members of the Lt. George Farragut Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, from left, Luella Stilley, Gail Outhwaite and Nancy Beyer pick Ponderosa Pine saplings to take home after Friday’s event in McEuen Park.
COEUR d’ALENE — It was hard not to feel moved by the moment as a young red oak was planted in McEuen Park on Friday.
"It’s pretty emotional, a little bit. It just makes you feel warm and fuzzy that it’s going to be there," said Daughters of the American Revolution member Linda Hetrick of Hayden. “The history of this moment is very nice."
For Arbor Day, the Lt. George Farragut Chapter of the DAR organized the planting of a red oak and flowers near the Harbor House at the south end of the park. The project is titled "Beauty and Bees Will Surround Us Forever."
The flowers, including daffodils and hyacinth, will return every year. The oak will grow to be about 50 feet tall. Its branches will eventually spread about 40 feet, its boughs will sprout beautiful autumn foliage and acorns will one day adorn its limbs.
"You’ll see some great orange, yellow, reds. It will be a nice mixture as it goes through the season," said Bartlett Tree Experts consulting arborist Matt Voss, who helped plant the oak. Bartlett donated the tree.
"I think it’s a great idea," Voss said. "I wish we could do this every year. It will be something that will be here for hundreds of years and we can always come back and say ‘We’ve been watching this thing grow throughout its lifetime, and my lifetime.'"
DAR conservation chair Jeanice Clinton-Roman, who coordinated the event, said the oak and the flowers are going to aid the pollination process in McEuen.
"I thought this would be something needed. We’ve been working really hard on bees,” she said. “The bees are disappearing. What anybody really has to do is plant a flower in their back yard. That increases pollination and that’s what we want."
During the ceremony, Coeur d'Alene Mayor Steve Widmyer read a proclamation that states this entire week is "Celebration of Arbor Day" week. He also announced that this is Coeur d'Alene's 34th year of having the honor of being a Tree City USA, as appointed by the National Arbor Day Foundation.
He thanked the DAR ladies for their work to make the "Beauty and Bees" project happen.
"This community is great because of community-minded people like yourselves,” Widmyer said. "It really makes our park the great park that it is. We’re really going to enjoy the flowers and watching this tree grow."
Coeur d'Alene Urban Forestry coordinator Katie Kosanke helped pick the location for the tree, which was planted on a little knoll.
“This is a great lookout spot, and there really isn’t a lot of shade here, so in my mind I imagine this tree growing and maturing, providing a nice canopy, people enjoying the shade underneath it,” she said. "It's just going to provide a ton of environmental benefits and social benefits, the beauty and what people see with it. I imagine people enjoying this tree for a long time."