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<br /> STORY BY ELLEN SCHLESINGER et PHOTO BY BRYAN WESEL
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<br /> CHERRY TREE IS SAID TO BE THE PLANTING OF PIONEER EUGENE SKINNER. •
<br /> rothy and fragrant,few treesare as sweetly nostalgic as •''hila',.� ` �r w a '0e# Ti. r; ' l. r , 'Pi
<br /> l'',d t t 3 A tea ,. k '. C11s' ri' f ,' i
<br /> flowering and fruiting cher- �,� � ♦'�k w �� �� $� 9 i
<br /> ries.In April,when the.cherry tree - s. , t , - 5,,, 1 *:_. � h, :,: ti r °, � E
<br /> a . s .ft ,-,:„,..1.,-: 7.!•:,,,,,,,,!.
<br /> a
<br /> at the Owen Rose Garden in ., ,t 44 Y� ,„ r ti . ,�„:•
<br /> Eugene is in G, ; .. ,,,,,t.:-- ,.
<br /> GARDENS .4- ,.=,...;,
<br /> bloom, its sim- 4 z '<
<br /> IN SEASON ply spectacular ,t:".;°`; ;;-:;.c r P
<br /> y° h yd, f °+ C 'aJ, ;t- Con do
<br /> an enormous old , z° 3v g i ”, --+A, ° -4/
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<br /> and gnarled � ",°°'°,- °,. :7)-Pit,t ,,. , ,' >r �% ;, f
<br /> specimen, its �t;�`,,ws .7:0 is.A e a s': -�oe� oo.,
<br /> many extended ; ti; .� � , ' ,°1 � onto
<br /> branches smoth- ,: t ` . ' 1 ' `'� ,= �
<br /> ered by thou- :
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<br /> sands of snowy white, scented °���` - ��� `° ��� ��` � �� � ��' � °� ��
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<br /> blossoms. Even if not planted by Eugene Skinner,the Owen Rose Garden cherry .p r'
<br /> What could be a lovelier em- tree stands tall with its designation as an Oregon Heritage Tree.iiie P
<br /> blem of spring in our area? But x
<br /> P it's
<br /> $ origins. His feelings mirror my Heritage Tree in Lane County,and, -. r
<br /> even when inot in flower, the own and likely thousands of other happily,since it is sited in a public
<br /> majestic tree,which is purportedly people who live here."The roman- park,this venerable-tree is accessi-.
<br /> the largest of its kind in the state, tic in me is certain that Skinner ble to all of us. .
<br /> and perhaps the nation, is a planted it,"' Anderson says "But We can admire it,but unfortu- ° p t
<br /> treasure. - the horticulturalist,the hard-bitten nately we can't climb it.The tree is 461-4680 :
<br /> Being more than a hundred realist, thinks it's a delightful too fragile, too rotten at its core,
<br /> years old, huge, beloved and his- myth." and is now held together by cables.
<br /> toric(the cherry was designated an It's a Prunus avium (Mazzard But even old and encumbered,the
<br /> Oregon Heritage Tree in April of or Sweet Cherry), but no one is tree looks like an immense,organ- t,
<br /> 1999), the regal tree is also thecertain of its varietal name. Could is jungle gym, clamoring to be B0011 I
<br /> stuff of controversy and folklore. be a Tartarian cherry, could be a-•climbed. �
<br /> Both local legend and the city's 'Black Republican? Both varieties The ridged trunk is more thantim.atii
<br /> Web site tell us Eugene Skinner fit the time frame for cherry trees 21 feet around. The canopy is 90
<br /> planted the tree sometime during that were being grown in our area feet by 71 feet and the growth habit
<br /> the 1850s. Experts surmise That prior to 1900. The tree still bears is handsome. and horizontal. Boomer%compa:
<br /> Skinner or some other early settler fruit,but not enough to be picked. Graceful and imposing,the tree is t
<br /> work from the grow ,
<br /> probably planted it in the 1860s— Cuttings from the tree several the park's centerpiece. all feel
<br /> at the time of the Civil War—be- years ago are available through lo- "I'd climb the tree when I visit-
<br /> cause that's when certain varieties cal nurseries. Hedging their bets, ed my father,"Richard Owen,a re- • Superior vlsibllity
<br /> of edible cherry trees were avail- the nurserymen have labeled the tired engineer, recalls. "It was a >w Cprt-Plus de f
<br /> able to Oregon orchard growers. saplings simply as "Rose Garden big,old tree even then." ■ Flits-up hoed mat
<br /> Jeff Anderson, an urban forest- Cherry Trees." —Ellen Schlesinger lives in Eugene.She See Boomer now;
<br /> er with the city of Eugene, is am- Myths and names aside,the tree maybe reached by e-mail at !E.I EWHOU APD
<br /> T
<br /> bivalent about the tree's age and is magnificent.It's the sole Oregon .hg@guardnet.com. t
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