JUNE 18, 2009 ISSUE
Boone's Oldest Tree Receives A Second Life
Meridian Timberworks Saves Tree, Gives Portion Back To Original Owners
Stacy Eggers, Jr. stands in front of a 300-year-old white oak tree on his property that was destroyed on April 14 when NCDOT took part of his land for a utility easement for the Highway 421 widening project. Fortunately, the wood from the tree was saved after it was felled and will live a new life as furniture and woodwork. Photo by Ryan Abrams
On April 14, Stacy Eggers, Jr. stood on the corner of Highway 421 and Highway 105 Extension—on a piece of property he has owned since 1948—and watched as NCDOT crews cut down one of the oldest trees in the Town of Boone. That day marked the end of a multi-year battle to save the tree—a battle Eggers lost in the name of progress. A little serendipity via David H. Bryan, Jr., though, is showing Eggers that his battle was not fought in vain.
As part of right-of-way acquisitions for the impending 421 widening project, NCDOT cut down Eggers’ tree to make way for a wider road. Original plans called for four of Eggers’ trees to be cut, but community outcry managed to reduce the plan to call for only one tree, a 300-year-old white oak, to be cut.
“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. “They make up the only green space from Perkinsville to the other side of downtown.
“I did what I could do to keep NCDOT from taking the tree. You know, it was one of the oldest and most recognizable. But it didn’t work,” continued Eggers.
But serendipity was on Eggers’ side.
Finding himself caught in traffic on Highway 421 on April 14 was Bryan, owner of Meridian Timberworks of Boone. After discovering his wait in traffic was due to NCDOT crews cutting down a massive white oak tree, Bryan pulled over and asked the workers what was to become of the rare oak.
David H. Bryan, Jr., owner of Meridian Timberworks, and Ryan Crawley of Highland Craftsmen stand in front of a 13-foot long slab of white oak that is estimated to be between 260 and 300 years old. Before cut by NCDOT for right-of-way clearing, the tree was one of the oldest in the Town of Boone. Photo submitted
“The workers said they had nowhere to move it because it was too heavy,” said Bryan. “They said they were going to cut it into firewood.
“To tell you the truth, I was shocked that in this town no one was chained to it,” he added.
Dismayed at the thought of the tree living out its last days as kindling, Bryan asked the crew if he could take it for himself. The crew leader agreed but doubted Bryan’s ability to move the logs, which weighed approximately 6,000 pounds apiece. Bryan was not intimidated and called Plugs Boom Trucks, a company he uses to set his timber frames for Meridian’s Timber-SIP Synergy Home Line. A driver for Plugs happened to be in Boone that day and agreed to come by and move the logs. The driver salvaged two 6,000-pound logs from the construction area and transported them to the sawmill at Highlands Craftsmen, Inc. in Spruce Pine—the only company outfitted with saw equipment capable of cutting the oak’s size, according to Bryan. Highland Craftsmen does not offer cutting services to the public, but made an exception for this rare situation.
With the help of the staff at Highlands Craftsmen, Bryan cut the white oak into three-inch slabs, measuring four-feet wide and 13-feet tall. While cutting the tree into slabs, workers counted the rings in the trunk of the oak and found that it was between 260 and 300 years old. According to Bryan, the staff at Highlands Craftsmen is used to working with old, rare trees, and they were deeply impressed with Bryan’s rare find—underscoring the significance of its destruction by NCDOT.
Now that the tree has been cut into slabs, Bryan plans to make furniture-grade specialty pieces from it, sell some of the slabs to other woodworkers and give Eggers either a slab or a piece of furniture made from the tree, free of charge. Bryan has been in contact with the Eggers family and already made the offer. He hopes to work on projects involving the reclaimed wood this summer.
“It will be great to get some of it back,” said Eggers. “And I truly appreciate these folks for thinking of me.”
“I’m tickled that I was able to see it and be at the right place at the right time. I’m also happy that I had the right mindset to make sure it went to something other than firewood,” said Bryan.
For more information on Bryan and Meridian Timberworks, click to www.meridiantimberworks.com or call 828-773-4496.
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