A tree grows in Canonsburg
Lou and Sheryl Gadani and Rich Russo standing in front of the sycamore tree puts into perspective just how large the tree is.
The sycamore Tree at Town Park.
If you have walked in the upper section of Town Park, you can’t miss the giant sycamore tree (platanus occidental).
Ralph Guyton, a master gardener, suggested Penn State Extension examine the tree. The extension, in turn, gave us the name of an arborist, suggested we call Pennsylvania Forestry and that we visit a website called vpabigtrees.com that lists the biggest trees in Pennsylvania. Russ Gibbs, a service forester, along with my husband, Lou, and Rich Russo, president of the park board, measured this beautiful tree.
After several hours of measuring the circumference, height and spread, we determined the tree was 124.5 feet tall, with a 97-feet spread and a circumference of 19 feet. Points are given for each category and our tree came in at 381 points, making it the number one tree in Washington County – a tree estimated to be 200 years old.
When I walked in the park, I always would think of a poem called “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer that we had to memorize in elementary school in my home town.
As I researched the poem, I found out this poem was set to music and sung by none other than our hometown singer, Perry Como. It was a full-circle moment.
By the way, plans are in the works to accent this tree for visitors to enjoy.
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.