June 5, 2008 issue
Tree Troubles
Boone May Lose Four Historic Trees During
Highway 421 Widening Project
Story by Sam Calhoun
Smack dab in the middle of a Tree City USA, Boone could lose four of its oldest—and, arguably, most recognizable—trees when the North Carolina Department of Transportation takes a utility easement on property adjacent to 421 East King Street as part of the Highway 421 widening project.
Even though the highway widening is taking place across the street, some of the property owned by Stacy Eggers, Jr. will be taken over by utility lines.
“Those trees mean a whole lot to me and my family, and they are part of the history of Boone,” said Eggers, who lives at 422 Tracy Circle, a property with a backyard that slopes down to King Street and contains the trees. “Right now, they make up the only green space from Perkinsville to the other side of downtown.”
Eggers has owned the property since 1948 and built a house there in the 1960s. The yard is a landmark for motorists coming into Boone from the east; it is green, well manicured and expansive, with four trees bordering the yard on the side closest to the intersection of Highway 421 and Highway 105.
Two maple trees, one pine and a large oak tree—one of the biggest and oldest in town, according to Eggers—divide the yard from the highway. North Carolina Department of Transportation plans call for the four trees to be cut down before work on the widening project is completed.
“It’s a right of way issue for a utility easement,” said Eggers. “I suggested that they move [the easement] across the street because they are already condemning the property across the street.”
Eggers has not yet taken any legal action to save the trees, but he has told representatives from the North Carolina Department of Transportation about how important the trees are to his family, the community and the town’s aesthetics.
“They haven’t decided anything yet,” said Eggers. “They just said they were getting ready to [take the land and the trees].”
North Carolina Department of Transportation spokesperson Dara Demi said that her office is familiar with Eggers’ trees and commented, “If construction allows us to not impact these trees we’ll definitely not do that, but it’s hard to say at this point.”
Eggers currently lives in the house directly above the property.
“It’s all in my backyard now,” he said. “But I raised my children on the next street up and all around there.”
One of those children, Becca Eggers-Gryder, has special memories of the trees in her father’s yard. Becca and her siblings spent many days in the backyard swinging from a rope swing on one of the maple trees. She remembers using the trees as props in youthful games of imagination, as well as taking shelter from the rain underneath the expansive branches of the oak tree. The base of the oak tree was also her favorite place to sit and watch the cars go down King Street.
“If those trees go, a piece of my childhood goes with it,” said Becca. “It’s one of those things—like when you believe that your parents will always be around.
“That oak tree—it’s a real special tree for me and my sister,” she added.
Becca said that she and her family almost lost the trees around 1970 when a widening project threatened to cut into the Eggers’ property. The trees were saved, but Eggers lost a rock wall that used to separate the trees and yard from the sidewalk.
A representative for the North Carolina Department of Transportation said that the best way to make a comment on the Highway 421 widening project, as well as the best way to comment on the proposed removal of the trees, is to click to www.ncdot.org, click the Contact Us icon, and then click the Contact Us icon under General Public. The icon leads users to an email form they can fill out and submit to agents working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Concerned citizens can also call 1-919-733-3109 or toll free at 1-877-DOT-4YOU.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
