Tree Tales
The story starts with a single acorn...
It hangs on a thin branch near the top of a mighty oak that has remained unseen by human eyes, their intrusion still half a century away. A busy squirrel stretches and makes a grab for the tasty nut, almost out of reach, but the acorn plummets to the ground the moment it is touched. The squirrel, squeaking its annoyance, moves on and searches the higher branches; the snow will fall soon, and there is no time to waste. The acorn rolls down the hillside and comes to rest in a clearing just beyond the tree line, where it settles in and patiently takes root. Fortunately, the winter is mild and the soil is kind; this acorn will have no trouble reaching the next stage of its journey.
Decades pass...
A wagon eases to a stop in the shade of an oak tree that nearly became dinner for a hungry squirrel many years before. Its bark still bears the scars from a deer’s antlers, having been marked by a deer during the previous year’s rut. Grabbing his axe from the floor, a farmer hops off the wagon, adjusts his suspenders, and strides toward the oak with purpose. His new homestead shows promise, he thinks between swings, and these trees will make fine lumber for his new barn. The day is hot, and it takes him several hours of hard work until he hears the first creaks coming from deep within the oak. The resulting pain in his back will remind him of his toils for days. Shaking the earth under his feet as it comes crashing to the ground, the oak has barely stopped moving before the farmer has selected the next tree to fall. The oak was a good start, but there is still much work to be done. In a few weeks, the farmer’s neighbors will be helping him raise beams made from the tree into a spacious new hayloft.
An old man muses...
His homestead built with hand-hewn lumber long ago, the old farmer stretches his legs out in front of his rocking chair and takes another sip of his coffee. His farming activities these days mostly consist of advising his son on when to plant the crops and when to get a haircut, but he knows he has earned his rest. The old farmer’s back still twinges sometimes when he thinks about swinging his axe over and over again to create enough lumber to shelter his family. Watching his son tend to the livestock in the barn, the old man smiles, knowing the sturdy young man will take excellent care of the farm when he is gone.
A young man moves on...
The farmer’s son has a family of his own now, and he is proud that his wife and daughter dwell in the house that his father built by hand. Still, his daughter is ready to head off to school, and his wife insists that their little girl deserves a better education than the one she can get close to home, and he agrees. Together, they decide to sell their home and start anew in the big city. Thanks to its rustic charm and old-world quality, the property sells in less than a week to a family with no intention of farming the land.
A new path begins...
The farmer’s son is long gone, but his barn still stands. Its beams and boards of oak, chestnut, and pine still provide shelter, although these days they keep the snow off of sports cars instead of cattle. The barn’s current owner determined early in his professional life that he could make more money with less effort by selling corn futures rather than actually growing corn. Eventually, a call is made, and skilled craftsmen journey to the farm to disassemble the old barn a piece at a time. They approach the task with a certain reverence; a structure built with such skill and purpose deserves respect. The men are careful to document their progress, tagging and cataloging everything just in case someone would like to give the entire barn a new home. Fate has something else in store this time, but the acorn’s journey is far from over.
Old wood finds new purpose...
The beams and boards reclaimed from the barn, waiting in a specialized warehouse for the right buyer, are chosen for use in an urban renewal project in New York City. Some of the wood is reconditioned using modern milling practices, while some of it is left nearly unchanged, its age and character unmistakable and unique among the materials used for the project.
In a city full of drywall, steel, and concrete, the sight of the reclaimed vintage wood triggers a comforting primal response nearly forgotten by the modern age. Boards once trod upon by horses and cows now provide an elegant reminder of a simpler time to throngs of visitors. Many of them comment on the woodwork and ruminate on how beautiful craftsmanship is all too rare these days.
Out of countless acorns, what will yours become?
Sometimes the best part of
antique lumber
is right under the surface.
