On November 18, we lost an ancient witness to our history. Perhaps we could call him "Woody" because he was the black walnut tree by our chapel. His birth date is unknown, perhaps 1900, but he was so old that he was growing a cedar tree in the detritus that had built up on his huge limbs!

The oldest photo that we have of Woody shows him already full grown in 1937. By 1948, damage to one half of the tree is visible. The 1954 archaeology survey shows Woody growing within the foundations of the original 1790-1831 chapel. We assume that a desire to preserve such venerable timber caused the architect of the 1954 chapel to move the foundations slightly to the north. The present chapel therefore sits on half the original one.

An attempt was made about half a century ago to trim back the branches and let the tree start again. The damage to the one side never properly healed, however, and little by little the trunk on that side began to hollow all the way below ground level. The tree survived the two tropical storms of 2011, but was a risk to the chapel. We mourn the loss of this oldest of friends. The stories that each tree ring could tell!