Save a Champion
Tree
Sometimes
the best choices in life are to oppose actions you believe are detrimental to
your community, and over the years I’ve tried to be involved when I thought it
was important, and this is one of those times when I believe concerned citizens
should be heard. My current action is to save a 190 year old black walnut tree,
possible a Champion Tree of Arkansas. It is the oldest tree in the city limits
of El Dorado, planted on the Hanna Farm in the 1830s. The tree is located just across
the 167 bypass where Calion Road intersects it.
Since the 1830s this tree has stood in front of the Hanna family’s log cabin.
The tree leans, but it has leaned for years, and with its massive visible root
system, it shows no sign of falling. A storm took out a large upper limb years
ago, but today the massive canopy is fully leafed out, and the tree seems very healthy.
County
Judge Mike Loftin, who owned the land before it was recently purchased, has
moved the log cabin log by log and is the process of reconstructing the cabin.
He is to be commended for saving a piece of Union County history. However, the
new owners of the land have plans that do not include saving the historic tree.
They are going to build an assisted living and a retirement center, and take
the tree down. I think, from what I have seen of the plans, the project will be
a wonderful addition to our town, and I will welcome it with open arms. The
facility is a much needed addition, and I believe it will be a top quality
complex
Since
Vertis and I are the proposed project’s closest neighbor, I have made it a
personal goal to save this piece of history, because a tree of this magnitude
is truly irreplaceable. I am very familiar with the size of the property, and I
am certain, based on where the tree is located and the size of the property,
that the tree doesn’t have to be taken down in order to build the facility.
There is plenty of room on the property to accommodate both.
With
a copy of this column, I am contacting the Arkansas Forestry Commission with
the request to send a forester to measure and confirm this tree is an Arkansas
Champion Tree. I believe it is; because the tree has been a yard tree and
protected from the turn of the century’s wholesale cutting of native black
walnut trees. This 190 year old tree is very likely an Arkansas Champion Tree.
Of
course, I am going to write the company that is going to build the facility,
and encourage them to save this historic tree, and you may also want to drop
them a note requesting this giant black walnut tree be saved. The address is:
John Sledge, Landers Development LLC., 6720 Alcoa Road, Suite 3, Benton, AR
72019.
Many
times, after a historic home or in this case a tree, is taken down, we regret
not trying to save it. This 190 year old black walnut tree was 30 years old
when the Civil War was fought. It has lived through ice storms and high winds,
and has remained rooted as a symbol of our historic past. Today, this massive tree
isn’t threatened by an ice storm or a tornado, but by a chain saw. Surely, we
won’t just stand by and watch as this beautiful tree falls. Please take a few minutes to contact Mr.
Sledge. Your letter or note could the one that makes a difference and saves the
tree.
&
Farmers
Markets
One of the pluses to living in
Arkansas are the abundance of fresh produce available during the growing
seasons, and there is not a better place to get it than your local Farmer’s
Market. However, there are good, fair, and sometimes even bad Farmer’s Markets.
I know that doesn’t sound right, but let’s look at the pluses and minuses of
the markets. In other words, all Farmer’s Markets aren’t created equal.
First, a
good Farmer’s Market should be true to its name, a market for farmers to sell
to the public, and not just a market. That’s pretty simple, but you would be
surprised at what turns up at some ‘just come sell stuff’ markets without any
regulations. Do you like cardboard tomatoes? Yep, they are around at some
markets. Tomatoes that have skin so thick they would bounce if dropped from the
top of a two story building. Those sure aren’t the Bradley County Pinks. I’m
sure not a fan of regulations, but a good Farmer’s Market must have some, or it
won’t be truly a market for farmers, and you might as well go to Walmart. Here
are the critical ones.
(1) Your
Farmer’s Market should have a board made up of farmers and customers, and a
monitor to assure quality. That is a critical part of being a truly Farmer’s
Market. If you have no one checking quality, you won’t have uniform quality,
and one measure of that is defined as being sure this produce is from an
Arkansas farm.
(2) All
farmers who sell in the city limits must sell at one place designated by the
city. Of course, in order to do this, you must have a city ordinance
restricting the selling of produce except at the City designated place.
However, making a Farmer’s Market the only place in the city limits to sell
produce is a lot harder than you might think, even though studies have clearly
shown by having all sellers in one place, the individual farmer sells more
produce and having one Farmer’s Market attracts more customers, and both are
vastly better off than having roadside produce stands all over town. Of course,
you are going to have a few farmers complain, and I can tell you from
experience, very few mayors and city councils will tackle this small problem
even though they understand how this would make for a better market.
(3)
Encourage Arkansas handmade crafts, but have them in a craft section of the
market, and if possible have working craftsmen.
I believe the way to have a top
quality Farmer’s Market is to pattern it after the most successful ones in the
State. I haven’t checked all of them, but I am familiar with two of the best,
and these top Farmer’s Markets in the state have regulations to bring all
farmers to one designated spot and they monitor the produce. The two markets at
Bentonville and Fayetteville are easily my pick of best in the state.
The new Farmer’s Market in El Dorado
at MAD (the Murphy Art District) is a work in progress, but this year it has
moved up to another level with new participants and a lot more produce. The
growing season is just starting and it promises to give El Dorado’s Market a
real boost as melons, peaches, peas, and cantaloupes become available. However,
unless El Dorado’s City Council acts to bring all farmer to a designated spot
the market will never reach its potential. Let’s make that happen.
