In conjunction with Arbor Day, the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society announced the winners of an essay contest it held to raise awareness and appreciation for the city’s namesake Garry oak trees. Winners of the contest, jointly sponsored by the Garry Oak Society and Whidbey News-Times, will each receive a Garry oak tree to plant at a site of their choosing. Laura Menninger, founder of the Garry Oak Society, said she is extremely pleased with the number of quality submissions, especially from young people. They included students in Debra Rusnak’s third grade class at Crescent Harbor Elementary and eight Oak Harbor High School students.
Vote for your favorite essay online via SurveyMonkey.
The Grand Old Oak
By Peggy Darst Townsdin
There stood a great oak for a few hundred years. Native people watched her grow up from a tiny acorn. They honored all of the great oak trees near the bay.
Pioneers came to the bay from faraway places, such as England, Ireland, Norway, Germany and Sweden. The great oak stood out. They did not cut it down. Little Sibella Barrington called it “my tree.” She and the other pioneer children would rest, play and picnic under the great oak’s branches on their way walking to and from their one room school house up on Freund’s Hill.
Year after year the great oak grew. More people came to the town on the bay, Oak Harbor, named for the great oak trees found growing there on Whidbey Island. These people wore wooden shoes. Soon more people came to the town on the bay. These people wore uniforms. They brought seaplanes, jets and nice young families with them. The little town grew. The great oak tree stood strong and was admired by all. Season after season, year after year, she grew tall and healthy in her grassy field.
More roads were built. Pavement was poured down right up to the great oak’s trunk, and covered all of her grassy field. It surrounded her, and started to choke her. Large plastic sheets were laid down over the grass as well. It was to stop any plants from growing. It added to the choking of the great oak’s roots, preventing the rain that nourished the great oak from reaching her roots.
Still the great oak lived. Her roots spread out far and wide. She refused to give up, even as the pavement took a toll on her health. Every spring and summer she still spread out her beautiful green leaves and canopy. Many people admired her.
A group of people formed in the town. They called themselves “Harbor Pride.” They were proud of the harbor and the great oak trees. They named the great oak “The Grand Old Oak.,” One woman named Melissa took a special interest in the grand oak tree.
Alas, the town leaders decided that the grand oak tree was a hazard. She showed signs of becoming unhealthy. They feared she would lose a branch or cause harm to the people of the town. They took a vote; they would chop the great oak down. Melissa brought in oak tree specialists. They said, “take out that pavement at her trunk, take up that plastic, so her roots can be nourished!” At Melissa’s and other’s pleading, the town leaders voted just in time to spare the ax. Pavement was taken out. New healthy soil was brought in. The grand oak was watered. Harbor Pride members planted flowers and native plants surrounding the Grand Old Oak. She began to thrive again. She had 10 more years of seasons. Melissa spent hundreds of hours tending her garden around the Grand Old Oak. Others volunteered many hours as well, weeding and watering and caring for the Grand Old Oak.
Then one Sunday morning, with no warning to the town’s people, the Grand Old Oak was attacked and killed with chainsaws that ripped through her beautiful limbs and her huge old trunk. The town leaders had decided to get rid of that old oak tree they feared. No effort was made to spare her.
That sunny Sunday morning Melissa gathered flowers and plants in a basket and walked down the road to tend her garden at the Grand Old Oak. A sudden sharp pain stabbed her in the chest, as if an angry hand had seized her heart, as she saw her beloved oak tree being razed to the ground. All that is left now of the Grand Old Oak Tree, which grew for a few hundred years, is a large round stump, a few inches high. That is all that marks the spot where a great oak tree grew for a few hundred years.
A Legacy for Posterity
By Sandey Brandon
Magical trees. That’s what I think whenever I see their towering silhouettes against the Oak Harbor skyline. Interestingly enough, Walt Disney had a similar vision because he used the Quercus garryana — Garry oak — as inspiration for the enchanted forest in his animated classic “Snow White.”
These majestic trees stand sentinel all along the Pacific coastline from southern British Columbia to Los Angeles. Unlike their redwood and sequoia brethren, which radiate a timeless tranquility and upright majesty, Garry oaks are a delight of knarly, twisting formations that mimic bonsai gone berserk.
Before there were roads and habitations, before a concerted effort to plant the trees was adopted by settlers to the island, acorns were a food staple of the indigenous population. History indicates that the trees found along our coastline may have gotten a foothold on the land as a result of the trading practices among the various tribes in the region.
However, the hold the trees have on our hearts is etched in Oak Harbor’s tree-lined streets and parks, the name of the city itself and many other commercial starts rooted in the words “oak” and “acorn.”
It is clear that the march of progress threatens all of the flora and fauna of our island, with the massive Garry oaks both targets and icons. These oaks have character. Chop them off for power line access or remove broken boughs and the trees simply reshape themselves into semaphores of beauty and endurance.
Pick a favorite Garry oak in the Oak Harbor habitat? What a difficult choice, when all the trees have individual grace notes. Now that the Keister post office behemoth has been cut down, the one standing in the middle of the road on SE 8th near Pasek gets my vote. There is something utterly charming about routing a street around a tree as a means of preservation instead of simply chopping it down. Every time I drive through Oak Harbor, I detour through that neighborhood to salute that particular tree and wish it a long life free from disease or man’s disposition. But there is no immunity from development and the Garry oaks in captivity, while protected, are yet subject to clearance.
Twenty-five years ago, we got 350 seedlings from the Department of Natural Resources for $70, which we split with friends. My husband and I planted 180 on our 20 acres, the majority of which grew without any pampering whatsoever. My husband has been gone for more than a decade, but the trees are flourishing.
A Chinese proverb says that the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is today. I would like to plant a Garry oak tree on the acreage in Freeland on which I am building my last homestead, where I can watch it grow and imagine its splendid silhouette backlit by sunset when I am gone.
Trees symbolize family
By Katherine Lof
OHHS Student
I have not lived in Oak Harbor very long, but one of my favorite things about it is the landscape, especially the trees. Yes, the water and the sky and everything else about Whidbey Island is breathtaking, but the trees take the cake. There is something special about looking up at a giant tree and knowing it has seen everything. Some of them may have even seen the discovery of Whidbey Island, and that is incredible.
As a senior about to move away for college, I want so very badly to leave a legacy behind, and what better way than to plant a tree? A tree just keeps growing and growing, becoming something beautiful that people appreciate. The idea of coming back from college for breaks, or maybe even to live my life here, and seeing the tree that I planted sounds amazing. It is, quite literally, planting my roots firmly in my home.
I know that no matter where I go, I will always be able to have a piece of me in Oak Harbor. When I am in Colorado for school, I’ll know I have a piece of me growing back home, reminding people of me and helping make Oak Harbor even more beautiful.
Trees symbolize family, and I feel as if Oak Harbor is a family, connecting their roots in a way that not everyone can see. They help bring people together, and it is comforting to know that when I leave, a piece of me will always be here. It will preserve my legacy and keep me firmly rooted here even when I have gone far away.
By Carolyn Michaelis
OHHS student
Being the daughter of a military family, and thus having moved 14 times in my 18 years of life has caused me to strive for adventure while simultaneously craving stability. After long days of photography and hiking, I appreciate coming home to a few consistent things.
I spent quite a bit of my childhood climbing to the tops of cherry trees so that I could watch the doves clean each others’ feathers. It was often my favorite place to sit with my camera and snap moments frozen in time while my legs fell asleep in the crooks of the branches. The overly large blossoming tree had both the adventure I enjoyed, and the stability I needed. Since these times, I have always viewed trees in a kind of loving way. Not only for what they do for the earth, but for what they have done for me. Since the day my family moved to Oak Harbor, we have been hiking new trails and exploring new forests, never disappointed by the sheer amount of oak trees there are and how many animals they provide homes to. Some of these animals have given me more reason to love the trees.
I hiked behind Fort Nugent Park one time, really quite late at night. It was an easy hike, barely any hills, and not too many spiny plants blocking my path. Owls cried out in the tree tops and every once in a while you could hear a hissing noise that drowned out the beautiful song of the frog choir which sang in the leaves. It was on this trail that I passed a short middle-aged Garry oak tree that I have passed many times before; although this time, one of its branches was snapped at the base, and was leaning into my path. I stopped walking so that I could step over the broken branch as carefully as possible when I realized what was sitting on top of it. A saw-whet owl, the size of my hand, balanced atop the broken branch close to the base, inspecting the damage to his home, only two feet away from my face. I didn’t move. Neither did he. We looked at each other for quite some time before I realized I should take a picture of him before it was too late. After my camera caught the shot, he left, and so did I.
I began thinking about everything that night. I thought about how this was his home. A home where dogs tear through the trails in the morning and Frisbees fly towards the trunks in the evening. I thought about all of the other little owls that may not get to go home because their tree was cut down for houses. I think of all of the times I have moved and wonder if he’s done the same. And I wonder if the owl craves stability.
From this experience I realize that I only want more homes for the animals in our world. I want to plant this tree so that I may give a home to an owl that may live peacefully, to give stability to the next family in my home, and so their children may experience what I have: that the world is full of curious things, and when we preserve them we are leaving behind experiences for many generations to come. I would love to go to college knowing that I am not only leaving behind a tree, I am leaving behind a teacher, a legacy, a home.
Fond memories tied to yard tree
By Sophie Dickinson
OHHS student
Being the daughter of two Oak Harbor High School graduates and longtime residents, I’ve never known anything different than this quaint city. I grew up using the tall oak trees as shade for the few sunny days we have here. I grew up worrying about them falling when we get those infamous Whidbey windstorms. Despite all the windstorms, power outages and construction, there are certain oak trees that have grown up alongside me these past 18 years and serve as landmarks for most of my most treasured childhood memories.
Growing up we lived in a charming house surrounded trees by on a two-acre property located on the outskirts of town. Of all the types of trees and shrubbery around, my sister and I always gravitated towards a specific oak tree which stood about 100 feet away from my bedroom window. After months of playing in the woods and making makeshift forts that would always be blown over by the next morning, we decided to take matters into our own hands. We searched the property for scraps of wood, nails and rope. That afternoon, we spent the whole day up in the tree building a more permanent solution to our little fort debacle. We used rocks to hammer in our nails and a homemade rope pulling system to raise and lower building materials to each other.
The next day, we raided our arts and crafts supply shelf and painted flowers and our names on the fort to mark our territory. My sister and I would spend hours playing house or reading. Despite us using scraps of plywood and rocks as hammers, our fort has remained sturdy for 10 years. The tree in our yard has provided a sense of ownership and also gave us place to go when we didn’t want to come home for dinner.
Another one of my favorite oaks is the one that towers over the lawn of the big, white Presbyterian Church at the corner of Eighth Avenue and Midway. A good amount of my childhood was spent at that church, between Sunday Services and Fellowship Hall afterwords to Vacation Bible School and Easter egg hunts under that tree. Even my parents’ wedding was held there and I remember being in my flower girl dress with my sister after the wedding and being so excited to go play in the lawn by the tree because I had been sitting on a pew for hours. I remember using the tree as base in tag and yelling at my sister, “No Puppy Guarding!” The tree acts as a background in many pictures from my most special memories through out my life including my baptism as a baby, my parents’ wedding and many Easters.
The oak tree right next to the back door of the pool also comes to mind when asked to pick some of my favorite ones.
I’ve been a competitive swimmer for the past eight years and the pool has been like a second home. In the summer, we’d practice for hours and then go outside and run laps.
That specific tree marked the finish line. I was always so motivated by the sight of that tree on the horizon. For me that tree grows tall and strong, just as I have during my time swimming.
The tree is also a symbol of unity for me. When I’d finish running, I would stand there and cheer for my teammates as they finish and vice versa. We had many team meetings, ab workouts and team cheers under the branches of that tree.
Growing up under the shade of all these oaks has been such a blessing. I love each and every one. I love all the one’s I’ve mentioned as well as many others.
I love the oak that is just down the road from the church, that splits the road into two.
I love the oak that grows outside of the Police Department and has a hole in its trunk that I’ve always suspected a squirrel lives in.
As I leave this town, I’ll always cherish the memories I’ve made in this town and I’ll miss the sight of each oak.
Mere presence can be a symbol
By Lessa Chiaraluce
OHHS student
It’s quite fascinating how a simple tree -— in this case a Garry oak tree — can symbolize so much just by its presence. For the better part of history, Garry oak trees have inhabited the lovely Whidbey Island, sharing their home with the rest of our small community. Treasured by man but under -appreciated just as much, these trees live gracefully and beautifully in our small town of Oak Harbor. These trees not only serve as the namesake of Oak Harbor, but also symbolize a common origin, a common threshold, and most importantly- a common home.
Upon hearing of Oak Harbor before moving up here, the first thing that came to mind were trees. Not only because the name of our town includes the name of such, but also because Washington state is known as the Evergreen state (which was unheard of since I came from the terribly brown Southern California).
However, it wasn’t until I took residency here that I realized what majesty and beauty a tree can hold and the symbol it can be recognized as. Moving here has made me grateful for the environment around us that we live in.
A Fairway Point Garry oak
Submitted by the Fairway Point Community
Several of us in the Fairway Point Community have recently learned about the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society and its mission to provide outreach, education and preservation of our city’s Garry oak trees (quercus garryana).
We have appreciated the grandness and majesty of the Garry oaks that we see throughout Oak Harbor. We shared an instinctual dismay when the Garry oak near the post office was cut down.
We now share the exciting possibility of planting a Garry oak tree in our community!
In Fairway Point, we have a space designated by the city as a “Tree Retention Area.,” It is referred to as Phase 4 Tract E on the community plat map and is somewhat adjacent to the cul-de-sac of Downfield Way.
Several of us walk each day around our community and have wanted to make this area more attractive.
We believe that a Garry oak in the Tree Retention Area would be an amazing addition to our community, and would further public education about this special tree while encouraging members of our community to participate in the planting of a future giant. Upon completion of the planting, we would send an informational paper to all our homeowners telling them of the history and importance of the tree.
We are informed that the City of Oak Harbor has no objection to our Homeowners’ Association desire to plant a Garry oak, where it will indeed be “retained,” and cherished for future generations. (We will have to verify that no utility lines pass through the area.)
The area for the Garry oak is approximately 9,397 sq ft, receives full sun, and the soil seems suited to the quality of drought-resistance attributed to the Garry oak.
The tree, in the fullness of time, would be a living monument for, not only the Fairway Point community, but for the City and the OHGO Society and its work. We are excited about saving the Garry oak and our community is a great place to do it!
Nina Carter
Bruce Freeman, President FPCA
Heather McConnell, Vice President FPCA
Kim Graves, Secretary, FPCA
Jan Oberholtzer, Treasurer,
FPCA Clare Christiansen, President, Oakmont Homeowner Association
Trees provide a chance to teach
By Debra Rusnak,
Third grade teacher, Crescent Harbor Elementary
(Student entries follow)
I was thrilled to see the opportunity to teach history of Oak Harbor and the Garry oak trees to my 3rd grade class, who, for the majority, are Navy and stationed, or have been stationed, all over the world. Their time at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station may be a short time, or, lucky for them, a longer stay, however, teaching history and conserving nature is a win-win for this teacher!
We have a plethora of information to pass on to our public school children today; state standards, common core, scope and sequence, the list does go on.
My constant goal in planning my teaching moments is, how can I make it relevant, meaningful and a learning memory for my students. “Hey! I remember that from 3rd grade”
I grew up in Eastern Washington on a wheat farm. Not really a tree in sight, unless planted as landscape, fruit orchard, or wind break. My first visit to the Seattle area as a child left me overwhelmed, at the sight of tree after tree after tree over Stevens Pass. Evergreen trees for sure, but trees at that time became a special memory.
My husband and I moved with our family from the North Bend area to Whidbey Island in 1999. I discovered Madrona trees and Garry oaks. Huge monuments that left an impression of wow – these don’t grow just anywhere.
So, I chose your essay contest as a relevant, teachable moment, to share Whidbey Island history and the science of nature to my kids in regards to the local, Garry oak trees. They need our human intervention to continue and I hoped to instill some passion to saving our planet to 8 and 9 year olds. I believe they will remember and do something.
Thank you for giving me this educational opportunity, and wouldn’t it be nice to replace the trees that were transplanted, and ultimately died within our community of Crescent Harbor Elementary. We will plant and preserve our Garry oaks!
By Ily Gilmore
Garry oaks need to be saved by replanting for future generations of Oak Harbor. I believe we need to bring awareness by planting young trees.
Native Americans planted Garry oaks as a source of protein and camas bulbs would grow in an oak meadow.
Naval Air Station arrived in Oak Harbor in 1941 and development began. Oak trees were destroyed and not replanted.
By Carson Lang
I believe that in Oak Harbor, the Garry oak trees need to be saved. They also need to be taken better care of so they live longer. At our school, Crescent Harbor Elementary, we believe that the government should plant more Garry oaks because if they don’t, Garry oaks could become extinct.
That is why the Garry oaks should be saved.
By Jaydin Lopez
I believe we need to bring awareness to the Garry oaks by planting young trees. The reason why Native Americans planted Garry oak trees is because it is a source of protein and camas bulbs grow around the oaks.
The Naval Air Station bought all the land when they were building houses, they moved the Garry oaks to Maylors Point. In all of the 54 trees that were transplanted, only 15 survived.
Our school is part of the Crescent Harbor community that decided we need to save the Garry oaks.
By Julie Gonzales
I believe we need to bring awareness to the Garry oaks by planting young trees. If we don’t, they could become extinct in Oak Harbor.
The Native Americans planted Garry oaks as a food source of protein.
Also, Navy Air Station Whidbey arrived in Oak Harbor in 1942, development erased the trees on the base.
By Anthony Fillmore
Garry oaks need to be saved. The purpose is Crescent Harbor needs to replace the Garry oak trees that got cut down.
In our class, Team Rusnak works hard to be responsible. We will try our best to save the Garry oak trees.
Our school is part of the Crescent Harbor community and we are dedicated to save the Garry oaks.
By Addison Boyer
My class and I are learning about the Garry oak trees. Garry oaks need to be saved and we need to plant young ones too.
When the US Navy came to Oak Harbor, they bought the land which had lots of Garry oak trees in Crescent Harbor housing. They cut down many Garry oak trees because they needed space.
We need to save and replant the Garry oak tree.
By Lily Isaacs
I believe the Oak Harbor community needs to save Garry oaks because the Navy developed on the land they grew on. In Oak Harbor, our class is dedicated to save the Garry oaks by getting in the newspaper and winning a tree to plant! One reason to save the Garry oaks is because they provide wind and clearly, our class needs to win for this! When the Native Americans came, they planted the Garry oak trees to make a source of protein. If my class winds, I will be happy because it will be really cool to plant the Garry oak trees to help our community and our nation.
By Leland Deutscher
I believe we need to bring awareness to the Garry oaks by planting young trees.
Also, Native Americans planted Garry oaks as a source of protein and camas bulbs grown in Oak Harbor meadows.
But, the Naval Air Station arrived in Oak Harbor. they cleared them all out!
That is why we need to save the Garry oak from extinction. Today, we are saving the Garry oak from disappearing.
By Jeremiah Linabury
Our school needs to save Garry oak trees because the Native Americans planted them as a source of protein.
Another reason why we need to save Garry oaks is because the NAS arrived in 1941. Development began and oak trees were destroyed.
Another reason we need to save the Garry oaks is because our school is part of the Crescent Harbor community and we need to show responsibility to future generations.
By Miley Dumbleton
I believe that we should plant more Garry oak trees to cherish later on. That is why I think we should plant Garry oak trees.
My first reason is because Native Americans decided to plant Garry oaks as a source of protein for food.
My second reason is the Naval Air Station arrived in 1941 and the Garry oak trees were destroyed for development.
My third reason is my school is part of the Crescent Harbor community. I want to see a Garry oak!
By Tessa Timm-Veeser
I believe that people should stop cutting down the Garry oaks.
We need to tell the Navy to stop cutting down the Garry oaks to make room for more people. My class is thinking about growing new ones.
Garry oaks could become extinct.
By Emma Campbell
The Garry oak trees need to be saved because we need to keep planting Garry oak trees because it is part of our generations to come in the Oak Harbor community.
I believe that we still need to bring more Garry oaks trees, because I do not know what I will do without Garry oak trees in Oak Harbor.
Native Americans need to keep planting Garry oak trees in Oak Harbor to save them from disappearing completely.
Naval air station arrived in Oak Harbor in 1941, and development began which destroyed many of our oak trees.
